These are my parents. This photo was taken in May 2017 exactly 2 weeks before my father almost died of septic shock. Despite their age and physical limitations, my parents had traveled alone from California to Wisconsin for a family wedding. At this point, my father had already survived numerous health crises. Two weeks after this family wedding, my father had his gallbladder removed. Two days later his fever spiked and his blood pressure fell. We all thought we’d lose him.

To better understand this story, I need to go back a few years. Following my mother’s knee replacement, her scoliosis became marked worse causing her gait to be altered and her balance to be affected. Over the next few years, she began to move slower and slower. Then, we all noticed that her short-term memory was beginning to fade. Then she suffered a minor stroke. The MRI and CT scans showed cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and that my mother had 12-15 prior brain bleeds.

While at this family wedding, my father asked us what they should do. Because my father had planned ahead, my mother owned a long-term care insurance policy. We encouraged him to start the claims process for my mother. The plan was to provide my mother with home health care standby assistance for bathing and dressing.
To continue reading about my parents’ story, go to the next page.