More progress!

We took Mom out to eat tonight at our favorite catfish place. When we got to the place, I forgot to unhook her seat belt while my brother was getting the wheelchair from his car. She very clearly told me, "I can't get out". When the wait staff asked her if she wanted fish or shrimp, she very clearly said, "I think I want the shrimp"! We talked with someone there whose mother had a really bad stroke and after a year had started talking and doing all the same things again. Those kinds of stories give us hope.


 Last night someone asked if she had supplemental insurance. Well, of course, she does and we completely forgot  about it. We will be checking on Monday to see if it will help pay since she is in a Skilled Nursing Facility. Something new to learn every day. Our visit with the lawyer on Friday was helpful as well.

Good News!

The administrator told us we could leave her in the same room until such time as they needed it and after that he would find a private room on another hall for her. It will cost us $4200 a month, so we told her she had to be ready to run a race within a month or so. The beautiful daffodils are courtesy of her niece!

 Our next thing to tackle is all her assets. If she had another stroke tomorrow and required a nursing home, it would take all her money and then they said any land would have to be sold and used as payment until it ran out. I already have an appointment with our attorney on Friday. We have been told that it had to be out of her name for 5 years, but we are trying to figure a way to get around that. Right now, it's all in her name except property that Dad inherited. We told her today that we were going to try to get her name off everything except the house and the car. She is allowed to own a house and a car and that is it before Medicaid would kick in. She just said, "OK". She would hate more than anything to use up all the funds and lose the land. That would kill her.

Working on it!

My brother and I met with the CEO of the Meadowview facility where Mom is today. We told him that we are willing to private pay for a couple of extra months as long as she can continue to get all three rehab disciplines and a private room. He told us the rate was $130 per day plus $300 extra a month for the private room. That's different from what we were told yesterday. He is checking to see what he has available and will talk with again tomorrow. We have already checked and we know there are 5 empty rooms in the rehab hall. This facility is having a Grand Re-Opening event tomorrow at 5P.M. Since the CEO is the King of my krewe this year, he has asked krewe members to be there with their flashy, gaudy Mardi Gras jackets on. I told him I would be there with mine on!!! Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!!

Today is National Margarita Day!

Mixed emotions!

Mom had a great birthday with balloons and cake, but we had our meeting that kind of killed the spirit for me. They all said she was doing wonderfully and all the therapists want to keep seeing her, but Medicare is done after 100 days. Part B will pay for more therapy, but we will have to pay for room and board and medicines. When you work hard all your life, save your money, have a house and land and investments, then you get punished when it comes to long term care.  The therapists( and we) think that she could benefit from a few more months of 5 day a week therapy. Our cost would be about $5000 per month and they said semi-private room. My brother and I both bristled at that and said absolutely not. We are going to try to see the CEO tomorrow and negotiate a deal. The night nurse told us deals could be made. We don't mind paying, but not for a semi-private room. Even if Mom passed all her assets to us now, that still wouldn't help because they have to be out of her hands for 5 years. I believe they will make every effort to get her a private room because they want our business. If not, then I guess I will live with her and learn how to do things for her....and get some sitters for home. It wouldn't cost anymore than the nursing home, but Home Health only allows for therapy a couple of times a week. My back hurts, my brain hurts and I'm tired!

Big day tomorrow!

Tomorrow is Mom's 86th birthday and my brother and I have a meeting with all the therapists and the social worker to discuss what's next after her 100 days of therapy are up on March 5th.

Today after they put her down for her nap, I was telling her that my brother would not be back this afternoon because he had to go made his cake for the men's cake auction at his church. She looked at me and said so that I knew exactly what she said, "I always enjoyed going to that"......then she started to cry. Oh, no. I can't take that, so I told her that I would take her if she wanted to go. She did! I went back to get her this evening and my brother met us at the church. She got to attend the evening worship and see all her church friends and go to the cake sale. Those people were so very happy to see her and I was so very happy that I took her. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of some of the cakes , but it was a great fund raiser. .

crap

I wrote a whole blog entry using google docs, which I always use, but when I went to publish, the "post to blog" option was gone....gone...gone...whole post....gone and I don't feel like doing ti again.

Stop the insane spending!

WooHoo!

Brother is back from vacation a day early. I get to go to lunch with my pals tomorrow like we do every Thursday. It's an outlet that I desperately need. Now that he is back, we have to get in gear and figure out our next step. He will be calling a group of church men soon who have a service of building ramps for people who need them. Potatoes were actually supposed to be planted on Monday....that is not happening anytime soon. Maybe not at all if we don't get going on the garden. I suspect Brother will be on the tractor tomorrow breaking up the garden. Time to get to work!

Mom walking

What next?

My brother was with Mom at noon today so I could go have lunch with our Mardi Gras krewe's Queen and see the decorations for the ball. It is tonight and the first one I have missed since moving to Louisiana 5 years ago. The ball room was just beautiful and I got a little teary eyed thinking about not getting to go this year. While my brother was there, the social worker told him that Mom's 100 days will be up on March 5th and she wanted to know what our plans are. Now I am getting panicky wondering how we are going to do this. We will take her to her home and I plan to stay with her as much as possible. I guess I will just take it one day at a time and do what I have to do.

Hope all my fellow Mardi Gras pals are having fun out there tonight!

Sorry..I couldn't help it!

Ooops!

I just deleted the last post and I really didn't mean to. It's my record of my mom's stroke.

We are now 15 weeks post stroke and still making some progress. My brother is going to be gone next week, so I will have it all by myself.

Superman brother!

I spent several hours at the hospital yesterday waiting during my brother's back surgery because his wife had to go back home to take care of the dogs.( They train retrievers) As she was on the way back to the hospital and I was on my way home, she called and said he was coming home! What! Yep.....came home after back surgery. He waited until I got to Mom's room and he called so she could hear his voice. Made her grin from ear to ear!!!


Yesterday seemed to be good for her. She would not lie down for her afternoon rest until I got back and gave her a report on her baby boy. When I walked in, she really lit up and was thrilled when I told her he was coming home. He is not able to go visit her yet, but I doubt that will last past tomorrow. He cannot stand to not see her.

Good day

I took Mom to my brother's for lunch today. An aide got her in the car, but when I got her to my brother's, he was not there yet. I was able to get her out and into her wheelchair by myself. She helped a lot. She had some physical therapy today and walked with a different kind of walker. The therapist said she did real well, but was real nervous about it. She doesn't have confidence in herself and is scared a lot. Tonight after I spent the evening with her, the aids came to put her to bed. She was just fine until I told her I was going to the hospital early in the morning to be with my brother for his surgery. Then.....she started crying! Then....I started crying. I just can't help it. I can't stand to see her cry and not be able to tell me why she is crying. She has never been one to cry. I cry watching TV!

Strange brain!

This week while Mom was napping in the afternoon, the aides heard her yelling out, "Get her away from me" several times. They rushed in to see what was wrong and she was asleep. They woke her and told her she was dreaming, but they told me she said that very clearly as if nothing had ever happened to her brain! The brain is a strange organ!

Oops X 2!

Ooops #1...I took a video with my iphone of Mom trying to talk today, but it is too big to upload to blogger and I don't know how to make it smaller.

Ooops #2...As I was leaving the rehab facility tonight down the same path I take several times a day and every night, I fell and busted my butt, but I didn't drop my iphone. I know what's important!! !Forget the busted knee and elbow....the phone is saved!

And....I missed my first parade today. Won't be participating in any of my krewe's activities this year and I am really sorry because I really like our captain this year. Don't really care about missing the ball as I am not much of a dress up kind of gal anymore, but I did enjoy riding the float in the parades.

Negative!

I just got back from seeing Mom for the first time tonight. My brother was with her at noon and I stayed home and was lazy. He just called me and said she was not acting right. I told him that she was not acting right tonight either. Just doing some strange stuff....not normal...and not understanding much of anything. She was tired, so I got them in there to put her to bed and I was home by 7. Highly unusual! Don't know what is going on with her.

Every night I stay with Mom until the...

Every night I stay with Mom until they put her to bed and I know she is comfortable. Last night, her gown was bunched up under her, so I got the aids back in the room that put her to bed to straighten it out. She still was not happy and none of us could figure out what was wrong. She ended up crying and I ended up crying because I couldn't understand her and didn't know what was wrong. I finally left, but didn't sleep well last night because I was worried that something was wrong with her. Today, she doesn't remember why she was unhappy and crying. I told her I didn't sleep because I was worried about her. She very clearly said to me, " I'm sorry"! She was happy tonight when I left her, so I think I will sleep tonight...Oh, wait, I slept this afternoon. My brother called and told me he was with Mom at 4 and there was no need for me to come then, so I waited an extra hour to go there. An extra hour at home is very helpful to me.

Sorry

I just realized that I have been quite remiss in updating on Mom. It's just because there is nothing earth shaking to report. She continues to make tiny improvements, but continues to do some mentally really strange things...like blow her nose  in her hand!!! WTH! We have tissues right in front of her, but she can't grasp the concept all the time. Her mind is just not quite right. That part is really hard for me because she has always been so smart!

My brother saw his neurosurgeon today and has surgery scheduled for the 24th for his spinal stenosis. Doc said maybe a couple of days in the hospital and light duty for a couple of weeks. This will be his second stenosis surgery and the last one, he stayed in the hospital less that 24 hours. He thinks he's indestructible! Superman!

Check it out!

Mom is moving her right foot on her own now! WooHoo! The therapists wanted me to see her walk today, so they came back and got her after lunch and brought her back to therapy so I could see how well she is doing. I am thrilled! My brother had ultrasound on his kidney today and got the all clear! Nothing wrong there! Wednesday he sees the neurosurgeon about his back.