By an Anonymous Beneficiary from IowaIn the last year I lost both of my parents. They were 92 and 94 years old when they passed away. They had been married for 69 years and died within less than 10 months of each other. In the last decade of their lives, due to their slowly declining health, my parents had to sell the home that my father built, their car, Dad’s beloved truck, and their boat. They first moved in to an assistive living facility where they received home health services. They continued to decline and eventually moved in to a skilled nursing facility. Over the last months of their lives, they both required multiple ambulance trips to the hospital, lengthy hospital stays, several courses of physical, occupational and speech therapy, lab work, pain medications, and eventually hospice care.
I was an advocate for my Mom and Dad as well as their power of attorney. I was involved with helping to coordinate my parents’ care and making sure they had the required medically necessary services in place. The last few years have been a rollercoaster of emotions as I watched my Mom and Dad decline and eventually pass away. Fortunately, not once did I have to worry about access to or coverage for the myriad health care services my parents needed. Medicare was there through the ups and downs of their lives as a silent supporter allowing me to focus all of my time and energy on loving my parents and making sure they were well cared for in the last years, months, days and eventually seconds of their lives.
As my parents went through their decline, I too became eligible for Medicare. I hope the Medicare program continues to be strong for me and a silent supporter for my children so they can focus on what truly matters most in life as my final days roll round and the end comes for me.