This question first hit me when I moved into my mom’s house after her heart surgery. I found a picture of mom holding her first son, my brother Tom. She was 20 years old and so beautiful; she hardly looked like the same person I know today.
It is hard to imagine this scenario, especially when you realize this will be you someday.
This is the same person, the same heart, the same lungs and the same body, just a bit more worn than the earlier picture. What a heavy concept to understand. But how do we understand? Do we even need to understand? Like anything in life where decisions have to be made, you need to have a basic understanding of all the details and options of any given choice before you can make a decision. This is called an informed decision and details are what you need to have a basic understanding of how mom feels and what she is going through. This is necessary to do first because it is the backbone for your plan to take care of your mother in her senior years.
