My husband and I have been facing some difficult days following an injury to his knee and my own health issues. I had an opportunity to speak with my sister yesterday who owned an in-home care agency at one point in her life. Thanks to that experience she has become one of my expert advisors. Even though it has been years since she was in that role, she has stories to share and tips they used to help get clients through challenges. She is also a great listener and with her knowledge of my father’s journey with PD, she has somewhat of an understanding of what we are facing.

Back to yesterday’s conversation, she reminded me that when things go haywire it might be good to have an emergency button we could push to summon help. We talked through how my cell phone might be the replacement for that but, in that case I need to keep it close. We discussed the problem of letting someone into the house when the front door is locked. She shared that some former clients had lockboxes on their front porches with a key. They could give emergency responders the code to get the key and let themselves in. I shared that we have a garage door code that might work in the same way.

It was good for me to be able to debrief what happened in this last episode with someone knowledgeable about possible support. I feel that I have a better, clearer plan now thanks to her advice. Who knew my big sister would still be teaching me stuff at this age?