Hackman was found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home on February 26th. His wife and caregiver, 65-year-old classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, was also found dead, as was one of their three dogs, a 12-year-old Australian Kelpie mix named Zinna.

Both Hackman's and Arakawa's bodies were reportedly partially mummified. 

READ MORE: NM Officials Have Released Exactly How Gene Hackman and His Wife Died

Hackman was found in the couple's mud room with his cane and sunglasses close by. Arakawa was found on a bathroom floor with pills scattered nearby.  Zinna was said to be in a closed kennel not far away from where Arakawa was discovered.

According to the medical examiner's office, it is believed that Hackman's wife of 33 years died sometime around February 11th from a rare disease called Hantavirus, which is transmitted through rodent droppings. Hackman, who had Alzheimer's, is believed to have passed away roughly a week later "as a result of his heart disease."

Speculation is that Zinna passed away from starvation and dehydration, though a necropsy has not yet been performed.

Piecing the bits of information together that we now have paints an extraordinarily heartbreaking though incomplete picture of their last days. With Arakawa likely passing away first, Hackman was left alone and may not have known or understood how to place a call for help, nor take care of himself and Zinna. 

And to make it all worse, it would be another week before their bodies were discovered, which happened after a concerned maintenance technician alerted security.

From a caregiver's perspective, I couldn't help but wonder if Hackman's death and maybe that of his dog could have been prevented had there been a family member or close friend who was reaching out once a week or so to check in.

Hackman had three children, and one of them was quoted as saying they were close but hadn't touched base in a few months.

While it's unclear how often the other two communicated with him, I can tell you from firsthand experience that my family has had a communication system going back decades where we kept in touch on a near daily basis. 

And after I became a full-time caregiver for my mom, I made sure to let my sisters know that if they hadn't heard from either me or my mom in a 24-hour timeframe to please check on us at that point. Fortunately, we're all within driving distance of each other.

My mom knows that if something happens to me, she is to call 911 immediately, and then both of my sisters, so she can continue to get the care she needs.  Though it went without saying, my sisters have also told me that if something did happen to me, they would make sure to take care of her.

Though not everyone lives as close by to their loved ones as I do, it's important to have someone you can reach out to who could check in on a loved one, especially one who may have health/memory challenges, if you haven't heard from them in a few days - like a neighbor or co-worker or friend who could drop by their house. 

And if all else fails, call the police to have a wellness check done.

I don't know what the Hackman family's communication system was and have no idea if any family or friends reached out during that two-week period or not.  But I do know when someone has an elderly relative and they go a few days without hearing from them then it might be a good idea to press the issue to make sure everything's okay.

SEE ALSO: To read my previous Caregiver's Diary entries, please click here.