I’m back with another post about what to do when your parent is hospitalized, and today I’m going to talk about communication. When your parent is hospitalized, clear communication is key to advocating for their care, understanding what’s needed from you, and sorting through mountains of paperwork. 

My dad was hospitalized in April and throughout this experience, I’ve realized that there are a lot of things I wish I had known as the primary caregiver for a parent. I sincerely hope you never have to go through what I went through, but just in case you do, here’s what I’ve learned.

I never formally learned how to cook at home, but this is the one recipe my mom gave me before I left for college. And no, she did not write it down or give me exact measurements, all of the details I’ve written below come from my own trial and error learnings over the years.