The hospital discharge nobody prepared me for

Dad had his stroke on a Tuesday. By Friday, the hospital was talking about discharging him. I had four days to figure out how to care for a man who had lost significant mobility and had cognitive changes I didn't yet understand, in a house that wasn't set up for any of this.

Nobody from the hospital sat me down and explained what I needed to do. The discharge planner handed me a folder of papers and said someone would call to schedule home health. They didn't tell me about the grab bars I needed to install. They didn't tell me about the medication interactions. They didn't tell me that Dad would need someone with him essentially around the clock for the first two weeks.

I'm writing this because if you're in that situation — staring at a hospital discharge with no idea what you're doing — I want you to know: ask for a care conference with the entire medical team before discharge. Ask specifically what help will be needed in the first 72 hours. Ask for a home health evaluation. Ask for a social work referral. These are your rights as a patient and family member.

And then come to resources like this one. The Hospital-to-Home guide here is the information I desperately needed in those four days. I found it later, but you can find it now.