Don't Wait Until It's a Crisis

I want to share something with you that I wish someone had told me years ago. It comes from Daniel, whose family we've been working with for over a decade. When I asked him what he'd say to other families going through what he went through, he didn't hesitate:

“What I would say to somebody going through something similar is, don't wait. Like, reach out early. Don't wait till this is a disaster. Till this is out of control.”

The Moment Everything Changed

Daniel came to us when things had already gotten hard. He's part of a small family — no big support network, no siblings to split the load with. When I asked what initially led him to seek help, his answer hit home:

“When my mom started getting violent, like that was, you know, we were so unprepared. Maybe if we had a bigger family... it finally got to the point that it was out of control.”

That's the story we hear over and over. Families wait because they think they can handle it. They wait because they don't want to admit things are getting worse. They wait because finding help feels overwhelming. And then something happens — a fall, a crisis, a moment where everything tips — and suddenly they're scrambling.

Make the Plans Early

What Daniel learned — and what he wants every family to know — is that the best time to start planning is before you think you need to:

“Make the plans early, where the person who needs the help can still figure out what they want. Just don't wait.”

That line stays with me. When your parent can still participate in decisions about their own care — who comes into their home, what their day looks like, what matters to them — the whole experience is different. It's dignified. It's collaborative. It's not a crisis response.

“I Wish We Had Started Before”

Looking back, Daniel sees it clearly:

“I can't tell you how much I wish that we'd reached out... it's them leading us to the support that MCM could give us. I wish we had had that started before we had it. It would have been a lot easier if we had.”

Every family says this. Every single one. Not “I wish we hadn't gotten help.” Always “I wish we'd started sooner.”

What It Looks Like When You Do Reach Out

Daniel describes what it was like once his family connected with us. In those early panic moments, having someone to call changed everything:

“Whether it's the weekend, whether it's later, if I text and send it... you're always there, which is, I don't know how to say how valuable it is. It's like you're always available if something is going wrong.”

That's what 22 years and 271 families has taught us. Home care isn't just about the hours someone is in the home. It's about knowing that when something goes wrong at 11pm on a Saturday, you have someone to call who knows your parent, knows the situation, and can help.

If You're Reading This

If you're at the stage where you're searching online for home care information — whether it's for a parent, a spouse, or yourself — you're already thinking about it. That means now is the right time to have a conversation. Not next month. Not when something happens. Now.

A conversation costs nothing. It doesn't commit you to anything. It just means you'll know what your options are before you need them.

Call me — Steve Kohn — at 240-789-4890. I'll listen. And if we're not the right fit, I'll tell you that too.

— Steve Kohn, MCM Private Care
Montgomery County since 2004