Navigating a successful life care plan is much like a puzzle. Every step must be correct to progress and complete the plan.
I love puzzles. Crosswords, sudoku, cryptograms, almost any puzzle. My friends and family poke fun at me for casually glancing at a puzzle on the NY Times iPhone app when I should be engaged otherwise (like at dinner or at my daughters’ soccer games). Regardless of my penchant for puzzles at inopportune times, my wife, Stefanie, recently gave me The Puzzler by A.J. Jacobs. The book follows Jacobs’ “quest to solve the most baffling puzzles ever, from crosswords to jigsaws, to the meaning of life”—and this very quest is reminiscent of our clients’ pursuit of a successful life care plan.
Each chapter of the book focuses on a specific puzzle, its history, an interview with an expert on that puzzle, tips for completion, and a sample. Jacobs then often writes a few paragraphs relating each puzzle to a life challenge he or others once faced and solved.
While this is a fascinating read on its face (at least for me), the ongoing themes resonate with me long after I’ve closed a chapter. Jacobs offers tips for various puzzle solving, both practical and theoretical—two areas of thought that often come up in devising a life care plan. A practical example: Find crossword clues that likely end in “S” and write “S” in the box, even if you don’t know the whole word. This may help you with another clue. A theoretical example: Use a pencil. Mistakes happen. You won’t be perfect, so fix the mistake and continue forward.
What resonated most deeply were three simple characters in an early chapter: “? → !.” Jacobs explains the “?” represents the puzzle, the “→” represents the process of solving the puzzle, and the “!” represents the solution and its associated excitement.
This simple three-character graphic from the book represents one of the biggest reasons I find my work as an elder care advocate so fulfilling and so gratifying. Families seeking consult on a life care plan come to our office with a “?” looking for a guide and advocate to create the “→,” hoping for the peace of mind that comes with the “!.” No two families, even with seemingly identical worries, problems, or issues, will have the same solution.
Planning for the care of an aging loved one is a puzzle—and it’s no kid’s puzzle, either. It’s complicated, confusing, and, unfortunately, there is often no true solution. Care needs are virtually guaranteed to change, as are laws, finances, and family dynamics. A life care plan for a family and their aging loved one is often only the first solution to the first puzzle of an ongoing series, with the next one just around the corner. Whether a transition to long-term care, a hospitalization, a fall at home, or the need for hospice, each step in the aging process presents a new twist, a puzzle within a puzzle. A true life care plan is not static; it’s a dynamic approach to planning for elder care. Recognizing this, the elder care advocates of Rothkoff Law Group work with aging seniors and their loved ones to solve each puzzle that arises.
I may to not be able to solve the NY Times Sunday Crossword (yet), but our team of elder care advocates at Rothkoff Law Group can help you solve the long-term care puzzle and find the best care possible for you or your loved one and figure out how to pay for it without going broke.