Widowhood Wednesday - 8/27/14

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DISCLAIMER -
This is NOT intended to be professional advice of ANY sort!!
Please talk to your attorney and accountant about your affairs -
Your situation is unique to YOU!!
This is simply some of what I did - and it may or may not be -
What you want/need to do when the time comes - ;))
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When my husband died -
He was under “In-Home Hospice Care” -
And “Continuous Care” (24-hour care) -
And that day a Hospice Nurse -
Hospice Case Manager -
And the Hospice Pastor -
All happened to be here with us -

The Hospice Case Manager contacted the Hospice head-honcho Doctor -
To give him the information he needed for the death certificate -
And made the arrangements to shut down the “In-Home Hospice Care” -
And the Hospice Pharmacy service -

The Hospice Pastor volunteered to contact the Funeral Home for me -
But there was no “Funeral Home” to notify -
My husband had wanted to be an organ donor -
But cancer patients aren’t allowed - for obvious reasons -
So he did some research on the internet -
And was able to donate his “Whole Body” to a Medical School for research -
So the Pastor contacted the Medical School per the donor registration card -
And they came within three hours -

The Hospice Nurse was in charge of destroying the meds -
The Pastor and I had to witness the destruction and sign off on it -

I called Family Member #1 -
To let them know -
And told them that I would call again later that evening -
For a longer chat -

Then I called Friend #1 -
She came over -
After a while - the Hospice Manager and Hospice Nurse both left -
And my Friend #1 and the Pastor stayed with me -
Until the Medical School people arrived -

After everyone had left -
I called back Family Member #1 -
For the longer chat -

And then I called Neighbor #1 - across the street -
To let them know -

I had been working on my My Guy post for months -
So I edited that for the last time -
And posted it -

And that was enough for that day - ;))



PLEASE REMEMBER -
This is simply some of what I did -
And it may or may not be what you want or need to do -
When the time comes - ;))



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HOMEWORK - IMMEDIATE CONTACTS -

Make a list of your DOCTORS -
One of them will probably be the “Attending Physician” -
Who will have to sign off on the death certificate -

Make a list of FUNERAL HOME CHOICES -
For funeral arrangements -
Include the nearest VA cemetery if your husband is a veteran -
And consider donating your “Whole Body” to a local Medical School -

Include name - address - phone numbers - email addresses -
List them in the order in which you want them notified -
And the best way to notify them - phone - email - written note - or in person -

You can start with just the names -
And fill in the rest later - ;))

And while you’re at it -
Make a list of his meds and yours -
You will have to notify your non-Hospice Pharmacy -
To shut down their file(s) -
But you don’t have to do that on the first day - ;))

Widowhood Wednesday - 8/20/14

==========
DISCLAIMER -
This is NOT intended to be professional advice of ANY sort!!
Please talk to your attorney and accountant about your affairs -
Your situation is unique to YOU!!
This is simply some of what I did - and it may or may not be -
What you want/need to do when the time comes - ;))
==========

When we first started to line up our “Ducks” -
We talked about EVERYTHING -
And it is DEFINITELY easier if you TALK to each other -
About EVERYTHING!! - ;))

We both checked the internet for “What to do when someone dies” -
We both researched a variety of topics -

I printed out a bunch of checklists -
Got a large 3-ring binder and several sets of divider sheets -
Started making lists -
Collected the information -
Sorted and organized it in the binder -
Using little post-it notes instead of the label inserts for the tabs -
They are “moveable” and you don’t waste the label inserts - ;))

I tried to get myself pretty organized -
Then he died -
And I switched gears - ;))

The binder was good for collecting and organizing the information -
But then I actually had to “Deal with it” -
So I got a bunch of file folders -
And some accordion files -
And as I made the files -
I sorted them into the following categories -

To Do/Call
Errands
Pending
Done

Everything “To Do/Call” was in the binder -
All nice and neat -
So I systematically went through the binder -
I would pull a list or section from the binder - To Do/Call -
Make a file -
Make the call -
Write down the phone number - when I called - who I talked to - what was said -
Then I either had to file a form or make another follow-up call - To Do/Call -
Or go somewhere - to do something - an Errand -
Or wait for them to send me something - Pending -
Or it was - Done - ;))

It’s been over a month now -
And I am pretty much done -
Except for some “Pending” stuff -
And I can’t control how fast they send me -
Whatever it is they’re sending me -
So I just have to wait - ;))

And while I wait -
I want to blog and sew - ;))



PLEASE REMEMBER -
This is simply some of what I did -
And it may or may not be what you want or need to do -
When the time comes - ;))

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HOMEWORK -

#1 - Check the internet for “What to do when someone dies” -
And print out a bunch of checklists -
It will give you an idea of what needs to be done.
What I did may not be EXACTLY what you need to do -
And it may seem overwhelming at first -
But it IS doable -
In small chunks - ;))

#2 - Get a large 3-ring binder and several sets of divider sheets - ;))

#3 - Put everything you printed out -
And all of the information that you collect -
And all of the lists that you make -
In the binder -
To be sorted and organized later - ;))

You can also decide later -
Or when the time comes -
In which order you want/need to do -
Whatever it is that you want/need to do - ;))

And the more I think about it -
BOB should do her homework, too -
Because she may as well get her own “Ducks” lined up -
To make it easier for those I will someday leave behind - ;))

But this particular assignment is done - haha -
Because I already have the lists printed out -
And I have the binder -
And I have the divider sets -
So I can collect and organize my information -
But, unfortunately, someone else will have to deal with it -
Because I won’t be here - ;))