DYING ON AN INTERNATIONAL TRIP?
Posted: December 11, 2017 Filed under: geezerTrips, medical, Uncategorized | Tags: death, Death overseas, shipping body, Travel, travel insurance, US Embassy Leave a comment »
Death on an international trip. Coffins can frequently be bought at a flea market.
Old people are afraid of dying while on an international trip. Most are afraid of dying period; however, 99% of people die at some point, and once you reach 75 you are more aware of the probability that you will die; especially if you are going overseas.
Basically to make things easier, you need a 3 x 5 card:
- Embassy telephone number
- Insurance policy – Company and policy number.
- Airline and confirmation number.
- Emergency contact number.
- Home town physician and number.
- Hotel name and number.
- Family telephone numbers.
- Home town funeral home number.
- Tour operator number.
- Simple statement as to wishes. Cremate, ship home, bury abroad…etc.
- Travel insurance name, telephone and policy number.
- US Embassy number.
- The simple solution for your representative or next of kin:
- Travel insurance to pay for shipment of body, cremains.
- Contact the American Embassy where you are. They have a 24 hour number.
- Contact Funeral home in your home town.
- Carry on cremains in a sealed, TSA approved, container.
- Have foreign mortuary ship body to your home-town mortuary.
- Collect belongings
- Get copies of all paperwork – Embassy, police, doctors, hospitals, funeral homes, airlines, autopsy report, etc
- Notify: Embassy, family, police, funeral home,
Remember that what is a unique and terrible experience for you is a common event for the embassy, the funeral homes and the airlines.
THINK OLD!
Some useful web pages:
geezer TAPES THE DOCTOR!
Posted: October 7, 2015 Filed under: AGING, COPING, geezerHealth, medical, Uncategorized | Tags: age, aging, elder, elderly, geriatric, lifespan, old age, old people, retirement, senior, senior citizen Leave a comment »One of the problems old people have is that when they go to see the doctor, they can’t remember, or don’t understand, what s/he told them. Most doctors are not old, so they may not recognize that there is an old person in front of them. Even if they do, they won’t have a feel for what it is to be old.
At the end of the medical visit, ask the doctor if he would tell your smart phone what is wrong with you, what you need to do, and what the next step is. Also ask him if there is anything else you should be aware of.
This is simple. You already know how to take a photo of your grandkid. Just move from photo to video and press the button. It will record the doctor and what s/he says. You can then play this back. Don’t forget to turn the volume up. If you have a problem with this, practice with your grandkid. S/he will know how to work the smart phone.
You then have a diagnosis that you, or your kids, can listen to over and over. If the Doctor does not want to do this, get a new doctor.
You need to be clearly understand what is wrong with you and what you are supposed to do about it.
When you go to pick up your meds, ask the pharmacist what the medicine is for. While you are there, get a printout of all the medicines that you have taken in the last year. Ask the pharmacist if s/he sees any adverse reaction problems.