I wasn't prepared for what happened to my father as he was hitting 80 years old. My dad was always a healthy man in spite of 50 years of smoking two packs of harsh Camel cigarettes a day (he quit "cold turkey" over 15 years ago)

Two or three times a year he'd fly down Orlando, Florida to visit and spend a month or two.  I really enjoyed our quality time together and he loved being with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Everyone who met him liked him as he was very social, friendly and eager to help others.

In fact, for over 20 years he and Mom (before she passed away) volunteered several days a week, caring for patients at the Holly Patterson nursing home in Nassau County, Long Island, NY.  For 10  years they also were active in "Senior Power" a countywide senior advocacy group.   Both served on the Board of Directors, as Vice Presidents and as Presidents of the organization. They were recognized and honored numerous times by local and county officials for their involvement in helping others.

I thought, for sure Dad would see his 100th birthday. Then, there were "events." Two years after Mom's passing and being alone after 56 years, he started to be "forgetful".  Sometimes he'd get lost for hours in his car on short trips around the neighborhood he knew so well.  My brother, who lived 30 minutes away, used to get frantic with worry.  Dad then started to suffer shortness of breath on short walks. It developed into dizziness and then fainting spells.

During his last trip to Florida he fainted again at my home and I took him to a local hospital. I was unprepared as I did not have information on his doctor's names, the drugs he was taking, the New York hospital's addresses or important contact names and numbers. Dad could not recall the information either.

After this episode he was prescribed four or five new medications and I was very concerned about side effects and interactions. Prior to all this he had never so much as taken an aspirin, let alone a bunch of pills.  Now he had to use a nebulizer and have an oxygen tank next to his bed and would need "cardiopulmonary rehabilitation therapy?" What was that? Where could I get information my brother and I could understand and use?  How can I look after his well-being from 1000 miles away?

I researched and read numerous books and care guides. All stressed the importance of gathering and recording information; creating lists of contact numbers in case of emergency, a document locator record, records of medications, physicians, insurance, etc. I didn't have any of this at hand.

I could not find one book or an "organizer" that gave me the facility or mechanism to create such a record.   I needed to create our own "care guide" for my brother or a care giver to have handy.  So I gathered the information I needed and hand-wrote, then typed up lists in MS Word and started getting into surfing the Internet for the first time to research his drugs and conditions. I then did some simple formatting, created some forms, used clip art and organized them with all the pertinent information should another "situation" occur.

I gave copies my “organizer book” to my Dad to have at home and one to keep in his car. I gave one to my brother and kept one for myself. We were prepared.  Dad had his copy in hand when he went to a new specialist. The doctor and his staff were so very impressed that he had all the information they needed. Dad or my brother would have never remembered all of it. 

Now his new doctors could quickly get Dad's information on his condition, what drugs he was  on - past and present, insurance information, medical records, and so much more.  The doctor and his nurse commented that in 20 years of practice they had "never seen anyone so prepared with essential information".

I knew then I was onto something that could help other families with similar situations, especially those with chronic and progressive illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis and scores of others. 

My next step was to develop a computer program that a user could “create, manage and edit information” on their home computer rather then hand-write it all in a book.  If they were computer-literate enough to be on the internet they could easily work the program. 

Sincerely,