Our
Plan While You Still Can will lessen stress and confusion, maintain stability in relationships, and provide comfort and support every step of the way for …
· Families and children caring for an aging or dying parent or loved one
· Seniors, as the responsible leaders of your family
· Caregiver organizations and support groups
· Professionals who provide advice and counsel to seniors and their families
· Corporations and associations wanting to help their employees and members.
Boomer Caregivers: Have you got it knocked?
If you are providing care for an aging or dying parent or loved one, it’s likely that you are either physically exhausted or emotionally drained. Maybe both.
If that describes you, this book has been written just for you.
Boomers, decades ago, when we said, “I’ve got it knocked,” we meant that everything was copasetic; we had things under control – right?
Now that we are now in our 60s, if we are doing end-of-life planning with or for an aging or dying parent or loved one while they are dying, things are not copasetic, and we don’t have it knocked.
Please believe me – I’ve learned from experience that the best time to do a thorough job of end-of-life planning is when your parent or loved one is healthy.
Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
If you and your parent put off end-of-life planning until their condition is critical and little time is left, will your loved one’s attention be on their end-of-life planning, or on the end of their life?
Absolutely.
Please - get the end-of-life planning taken care of when folks are healthy and can devote full attention to doing it right. Then kick back, relax and enjoy the calm and serenity.
Are you doing your end-of-life planning with only half a brain?
I’ve learned that too many people mistakenly think that their end-of-life planning is done when financial decisions have been finalized and the will is prepared.
Important things to take care of, to be sure.
But stop for a moment. What about the other issues, like
· How are you holding up
· Removing the hassle from their lives
· Siblings and relatives
· Finances and insurance
· Your loved one’s home
· Additional housing options, like residential care and group family homes
· Evaluating and selecting the right physician
· Dealing with banks, attorneys, estate planners and investment advisors
· Celebrations of life and burial plans
· Taking with your parent or loved one as the end nears
· Spending time together, and
· Saying good-bye?
You know there is so much more to your parent or loved one, and their end-of-life planning, than financial and legal documents, don’t you?
Legal and financial preparations require left-brain thinking. The feeling, emotional, intuitive aspects of end-of-life planning require right-brain thinking.
I ask with complete respect, if their end-of-life thinking has omitted the right-brain aspects, have they done their end-of-life planning with only half a brain?
The responsible family leader
If you are in your 70s, 80s or 90s, I believe you are a responsible leader in your family for decades.
You have shouldered the responsibility of the day-to-day caring for your family, protecting them to the best of your ability.
As your death approaches, why should it be any different?
Acting responsibly to see to it that your own end-of-life planning is done while you still can is the final act of personal leadership and is a tremendous gift to give your loved ones.
When you do so, you will save them from sorting out and figuring out your last wishes at a time when they are grieving and most vulnerable.
Ignoring it will not make it go away, nor will you or your loved one live longer.
Corporations lose millions in lost productivity
Corporations lose millions of dollars annually in lost productivity as employees take more and more time off to care for aging or dying loved ones.
When the demands of trying to balance work and care giving become too much and the employee resigns, corporations are hit with the additional costs of recruiting and training replacements, often at higher wages than the person who left.
Corporations wanting to provide a valuable benefit that their employees will appreciate, while taking tangible steps to improve their bottom line, will be interested in Plan While You Still Can and its companion Workshop.
I realize this can be a difficult topic to face, and yet I know from experience that it is an important one that we neglect or ignore to our detriment.
Thank you, and I hope the information on the site is of interest and benefit.
Cordially,
Don -
Donald M. Burrows – Acorn Consulting Inc.
P.O. Box 1800 – Marysville, WA 98270
800.597.9972 (800.59P.WYSC)
Email: Don@PlanWhileYouStillCan.com
© 2008 Acorn Consulting Inc. All rights reserved
