Care Out Loud - Let's Talk Caregiving https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Caregiver Conversation Cards Caregiver Starter Pack Calm Health Home FAQ About Could This Be Dementia Cheat Sheets If you ended up in the hospital, who’s handling everything at home? If living on your own got harder, what’s Plan A? And if home stopped working altogether, what’s Plan B? If you needed more help day to day, what’s the one thing that’s non-negotiable? If you ever moved, what would make a new place feel like home? If we got worried home wasn’t safe anymore, how do you want us to bring it up? If driving ever becomes a concern, how are we handling it? When a treatment comes with tradeoffs, what matters most to you? Are there any treatments you already know are a hard yes—or a hard no? When you say “quality of life,” what does that actually look like on a regular Tuesday? If you probably weren’t going to get better, what would you want us to fight for? If you had a say in where you spent your last days, where would it be? At the end, who do you want in the room? Burial, cremation, or something else entirely? Funeral, memorial, or full-on party? Is any of this actually written down—or is it all living in your head? What do you want to make sure gets passed down? What do you still want to do yourself, even if it takes forever? What’s something I do for you that low-key drives you nuts? What do I worry about way more than I need to? What’s keeping you up at night that I don’t know about? When does helping start to feel like hovering? What do you wish I’d just do without you having to ask? What decisions do you always want the final say on? What haven’t you told me because you didn’t want me to worry? What do we butt heads about most when it comes to your care? What’s something we used to do together that we need to bring back? What’s one thing I do that genuinely makes this easier for you? Do you ever worry you’re a burden? What’s something about you that you don’t want to get lost in all this? If you ever need a walker, are we keeping it gray or bedazzling it? Which Friends character would you want most as your live-in caregiver? If we had entrance music every time we walked into an appointment, what song are we choosing? What’s the caregiving story that was absolutely NOT funny at the time…but is pretty funny now? If you ever had to downsize, what’s the one completely unreasonable thing you’re insisting comes with you? If we made bingo cards for your next appointment, what square absolutely has to be on there? If our family had official caregiving job titles, what would everyone’s be? What’s one thing you’ve learned about me through caregiving that you really could have lived without knowing? If you got to design your dream assisted-living community with one completely unreasonable amenity, what are you adding? If someone made a movie about this whole caregiving situation, who would play us? Which TV doctor do you want on your case? Dr. McDreamy? Dr. House? Doc Martin? Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman? Who’s reading your eulogy if Morgan Freeman’s busy?