27. Six Weeks, One Infection: Advocating for Your Elderly Parent

My mom just had surgery and started noticing something wasn't healing right. When she called the office, the front desk told her there were no appointments for six weeks, until September, and only the surgeon who did the procedure could see her. She's eighty two. She was worried, she was doing everything right, and the system still told her no. So we pushed back. I explained exactly what we did, from getting the photo the office had requested (something she couldn't do herself, since it was a spot on her own shoulder blade she couldn't reach or see) to what happened when the callback silence started again just days later. This episode walks through the whole thing in real time, because if you're the one watching your parent heal and hitting a wall with their doctor's office, you need to know it's not just you, and you don't have to accept "no" as the final answer. If there's one thing I want you to take from this, it's that advocating for your parent, or teaching them to advocate for themselves, isn't optional after a certain age. It's part of loving them well. You don't need a medical degree to push a door open. You just need to keep pushing. Feeling overwhelmed by what's next for your parent? Let's talk it through. My Parent Planning Call is a 60-minute 1:1 conversation to help you get clarity and real next steps, no judgment, no cookie-cutter advice. Book here: https://calendly.com/trinagonzalez/parent-planning-call 🤝 LET'S STAY CONNECTED 📬 Sign Up To Be An Insider — short weekly tips straight to your inbox Yes, Include Me Weekly 👥 Join Our Free Facebook Community — Elderly Parent Planning and Safety Group Join Facebook Community ⭐ Leave a Written Review on Apple Podcasts — helps other families find the podcast 📤 Share This Episode with a friend walking the same road with aging parents. 💌 Question or idea for episode? hello@trinag.com And remember — you are doing a good job. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. 💛 Informational & Educational Purposes Only. The information provided is for general educational and informational purposes only. It should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for decision making related to your personal life or business, without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. You understand and acknowledge that the information provided to you by us is not legal, financial, therapeutic, mental health, medical advice or health and wellness advice and that the Company is not a professional service provider. Again, all of the information, including without limitation, resources provided via phone or video conference, e-mail, an online forum, live events such as webinars or lives, video/audio recordings, courses, materials provided in our digital products and the like about business, insurance, laws, health/nutrition, wellness and/or finance-related information, are resources for educational and informational purposes only and should not take the place of hiring a licensed professional. You understand that the Company does not and will not provide any form of diagnosis, legal advice, medical advice, financial advice, or mental health advice.