Draft messages to doctors when caregiving gets overwhelming
In a Fast Company essay, Edwin Endlich describes using ChatGPT and custom GPTs while caring for his dying mother: one to organize medications, one to draft clear messages to doctors, one for the "dumb questions" between hospice visits, and another as a simple health profile he could reopen when exhausted.
What they did
Between daily hospice visits of about ninety minutes, he used AI as an organizer and translator—turning messy thoughts into clear questions for clinicians, keeping key details in a reusable profile, and later helping with funeral logistics and shaping a eulogy from a voice memo and his own stories.
How it went
He writes that AI "did not get tired" and gave him "room to think, to breathe… to stay with my mother instead of disappearing into logistics." He is frank that it also forgot medications and dropped list items, so he treated it "like a friend who knows a lot but can be flaky."
Worth knowing
Never let AI set medication doses, timing, or stop/start decisions—double-check every med list against the bottle and the clinician. Do not paste full charts with Social Security or insurance IDs into a chat. AI is not a substitute for hospice nurses, doctors, or grief counseling. For crisis support in the U.S., call or text 988.
Try it yourself
Copy this into ChatGPT (or any AI assistant). Replace the parts in [brackets] with your own details.
Help me draft a short, clear message to my mother's [doctor / hospice nurse]. Situation in plain facts only (no full SSN or insurance IDs): [what changed]. Questions I need answered: [list]. Tone: calm and specific. After the draft, list what I must double-check with a clinician before I act on any medication or care change.
Source: Edwin Endlich, Fast Company, Jan 12, 2026. Read the original →
First-hand account by the person who did it. Summarized in our own words. Spotted a mistake or want this removed? Tell us.