One task that you might be dreading is planning your senior’s funeral. If possible, it’s a good idea to ask your senior what she wants and what you can do to make her memorial what she would want it to be.
Approach the Topic Head On
This is a hard topic to talk about with your senior. Even with acknowledging that, though, you really can’t dodge or fudge the conversation. If you do that, it does both you and your elderly family member a disservice because the goal here is to make sure that her funeral is exactly how she wants it to be. So you need to approach the topic with dignity, but also head on.
Let Her Know You Want to Do What She Wants
Make sure that you point out to your aging family member that you really do want to make sure that you’re doing what she wants you to do. It might seem obvious to you, but hearing it out loud from you can be reassuring for your senior family member. She needs to know from you that you’re doing what you can to meet her wishes.
Document Her Wishes Thoroughly
One of the best ways for you to back up what you’re saying is to make sure that you’re taking notes about what she wants. Write down every decision that she gives you so that you’re not at risk of making a mistake later. You can also use your notes to help recap what you’ve already decided together.
Get a Full Picture of the Choices
Like all sorts of other industries, there are new choices all the time when it comes to burial and memorializing the people that you love. are now a thing, for instance, and that may be something that your senior may not be aware of as a choice. If you can gather as much information as possible and share it with your senior family member, she can have a much fuller picture of what’s available to her.
This isn’t always a conversation that goes smoothly and you might find that you need to tackle the topic in more than one go. If you and your senior aren’t sure where to even begin at all, you might be surprised how much end-of-life care providers can help. They have resources that you need in order to have this conversation properly.
If you or a loved-one are considering end-of-life care in Tucker, GA, please call the caring staff at Arcturus Hospice and Palliative Care today. Call 678-383-9973 today to speak to our care team.
Kate Gorinshteyn is the director of marketing at Arcturus Health Care. Arcturus is a fast-growing Hospice striving to provide the highest level of quality care to patients faced with life-limiting illnesses. Our goal is to make each patient as pain-free as possible and give physiological, emotional and spiritual support to both the patient and family. We understand that the decision change from curative to comfort care is difficult, and our team is trained to help you every step of the way!
We are proud to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.