When my dad was diagnosed with bone cancer, my brother made sure he was at every doctor’s visit with Pop. He wanted to be there to listen, even record it, and be able to use the information to help our father make the best decisions possible in his individual circumstances. It was more than a huge help; it was a necessity. Pop, who had always been so on top of things, was somewhat shell-shocked and was not taking in what was being said. Had my brother not been there to act as a bridge between what the doctor was saying and what we as lay people understood, the last years of our father’s life would have gone quite differently.
Some doctors are well aware of this. Dr. Shiv Rao has been so cognizant of the potential chasm between where the patient stands and where the doctor stands, that he has formed a company called: abridge. Read more at: caregiver.com
OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters (available at Head to Wind Publishing) makes the same suggestion: that a trusted friend or family member accompany a loved one to visits to help gather information for the benefit of what is usually a shell-shocked patient. That patient is still a person who wants to continue to live the best life possible for as long as possible, which is what we all want for everyone!
Published by Nancy Taylor Robson
I grew up sailing and building boats with my dad, married a tugboat captain, (who I'm still happily married to) and embarked on a life of adventure, challenge and fun. My first book, Woman in the Wheelhouse, told the sometimes harrowing story of working on an old coastal tugboat as cook/deckhand then worked in Mexico in the Campeche oil fields on a supply boat. I was one of the first women in the country to earn a tug operator's license. I'm the author of three other books, Course of the Waterman, which won the Fred Bonnie Prize for the novel, the historical novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, and OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters, which I wrote with longtime RN and hospice nurse, Sue Collins during the time my mother-in-law was moving to the end of her life.
My second, Course of the Waterman, the coming of age novel of a young Eastern Shore waterman, won the Fred Bonnie award in 2004. My third book, second novel, A Love Like No Other: Abigail and John Adams, A Modern Love Story, takes readers into the lives of the new nation's strong-willed second First Lady and her stubborn, often-absent and adored husband, John, our second US President. I wrote the book because I'd spent big chunks of time raising children alone while my husband was at sea and felt an affinity for Abigail, but also looked to her life as a MUCH bigger challenge that informed and encouraged my own. My fourth book, OK Now What? A Caregiver's Guide to What Matters (Head to Wind Publishing, 2014) was written in collaboration with Sue Collins, RN and longtime hospice nurse and has received heartwarming feedback on how helpful it's been to many caregivers.
A freelance writer for many years, I've published personal essays, features, maritime reporting and analysis, travel, garden and more for such places as The Washington Post, Yachting, House Beautiful, The Baltimore Sun, the Christian Science Monitor, Southern Living, Sailing, and more. I'm also a University of Maryland Master Gardener who grows and cans the family's fruits and vegetables, and a Bay-Wise program certifier. I write, sail, race sailboats (occasionally), walk the German Shepherd dogs, and cook for friends and family.
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Nancy Taylor Robson 