Trailer

Written By Brad Fortenberry
"But mom says she's fine" with Rachel Fortenberry

"But Mom says she's fine."

Maybe she is. But you’re starting to notice things, and you’re not quite sure what comes next.

But Mom Says She’s Fine is about the questions families face as their parents get older: caregiving, dementia, long-term care, money, legal decisions, and all the things nobody seems to explain until you suddenly need to know them.

Sometimes there’s a crisis: a fall, a hospital stay, a diagnosis, or a call from a neighbor. Other times, it happens slowly. Mom repeats herself more. Dad is struggling to keep up with the house. Someone probably shouldn’t be driving anymore. You know something is changing, but you don’t know whether it’s time to step in — or what stepping in would even look like.

Host Rachel Fortenberry is a Missouri elder law attorney who helps families through these decisions every day. She has also been the daughter sitting in a hospital wondering what her own family was supposed to do next.

Each episode, Rachel sits down with people who understand a different part of aging and caregiving — doctors, nurses, senior-care professionals, financial advisors, caregivers, attorneys, and families who have already been through it.

Together, they talk honestly about dementia, staying safely at home, long-term care, nursing homes, Medicaid and Medicare, powers of attorney, estate planning, family conflict, end-of-life decisions, and the conversations families often put off because nobody quite knows how to start them.

You won’t find magic solutions here. Aging is complicated, families are complicated, and there usually isn’t one perfect answer.

The goal is to help you recognize the questions sooner, understand the options in front of you, and feel more prepared for whatever comes next.

Because you don’t need to have every answer. You need to know what to ask, who to call, and what comes next.

New episodes weekly.

Brad Fortenberry