A son showing his mother something on her phone, on the sofa at home

Stories / Family far away

How do you look after Mum from another country?

Mrs Wong, 76, lives in Penang. Her son Daniel lives in Sydney.

“I'm still far away. But I'm not left wondering any more.”

Daniel, her son

What happened

A seven-hour flight lies between Daniel and any emergency.

  1. A bedroom in the morning, curtains half open, flats outside
    7:20 am

    Getting out of bed, Mrs Wong feels faint and slides to the floor.

  2. 20 seconds later

    Daniel's phone in Sydney shows an alert. So does his cousin's.

  3. An older woman in the passenger seat of a car, someone beside her at the door
    7:35 am

    Cousin Mei Ling, ten minutes away, takes her to the clinic.

What you can do

  1. Put someone local on the list: a relative, neighbour or friend who can be there in minutes.
  2. Agree who answers first at each time of day, across both time zones.
  3. Keep a shared note of the doctor, the medicines and who holds a key.
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