It’s important to know your audience, my mom is very stubborn and I have to take different approaches with her. I know mom has a fear of the unknown, she hates going in and often times doesn’t recognize or understand risks. Sometimes I have to downplay things so I don’t tap into her anxiety, sometimes I have to be firm and tell her like it is and sometimes I emphasize potential negative impacts in an attempt to scare the shit out of her. You gotta know when and how to play your cards with family, gotta be tactful and balanced. Either way, when it comes to my close immediate family, I don’t just let it ride and tell them sorry can’t help, I educate and I do what I can in a tactful way. It’s a frustrating position to be in and I can empathize with you greatly.

At the end of the day, you have to give yourself credit and permission to let it go if they aren’t listening. You can do some damage control, for instance I made 3 kits to keep at mom’s with nitro, aspirin, cpr supplies and clear instructions of what to do in the event of chest pain, there are copies of her med list, stent cards and medical history in there as well. Dad knows where this stuff is and we talk about it often.