Getting back to the story of my dad…His dementia was affecting his short term memory. He would forget to drink and then become dehydrated and his kidneys would not be able to process the toxins resulting in a toxic buildup in his brain. Weakness and lethargy would set in and we would end up back in the ER of the local hospital. You know that it is bad when the ER nurses start to recognize you and call you by your first name! We tried short term rehab at a hospital-based facility and then visiting nurses, home health aides, PT and OT to visit him on a weekly basis. This was the third time that he was admitted in this situation. I had found him confused, agitated, sitting in his house in a t shirt and shorts very quiet, head held down. He had been incontinent many, many times through his clothing and onto a washable chair pad. We kept supplies of pull up diapers, disposable and washable pads on hand. His urine was so concentrated the smell was actually paralyzing to anyone nearby. Only weeks ago during his second hospitalization in July I could be found scrubbing the bathroom floor on my hands and knees. My daughters assisted me in cleaning out a clear pathway in his house so that he could come home with a walker. We removed any unnecessary clutter. We trimmed bushes, did wash and dishes routinely. I also got my dad’s shower cleaned out and working so that he could sit on a shower chair and wash with assistance. He had a home health aide now coming in to help him 2 days a week with bathing. He did not qualify for Medicaid as he owned some stocks and an additional property which was my grandparent’s house and his place of business with my uncle. This 2 unit house and large storage garage had not been entered in many years. I am not even sure what equipment is inside the garage which had been a pretzel bakery. The property was built in 1900 and lined a popular street in the first ward in our town. Many a St. Patrick’s day parade were viewed from the front porch of this house. My husband and I routinely shoveled the walks of this house in winter and cut grass in the backyard in summer. We were reluctantly supplied a key for the gate leading to the backyard so that we could get in and get the work done. In order for my dad to qualify for MA he would have to sell his stock and have a legitimate realtor list the house for sale. My dad had done an “assist to sell” program in the past. This did not prove to be fruitful. Through the Local County Area Agency on Aging I was able to get my dad on a waiting list for a home health aide after his eight weeks of homecare visits were up. Though my dad’s caseworker in the AAA I obtained food stamps for him to cover additional food purchases up to $200 per month. Food stamps however do not cover any needed household cleaning supplies, toiletries or more importantly incontinence diapers. I would clip coupons and go to Rite Aid to get these supplies. We got Meals on Wheels (MOW) for 5 days per week – Monday through Friday. Weekends were uncovered as my dad came over to my house or went to Wendy’s for a burger. However we still had to pay for MOW as his food stamps did not cover the prior months…again some of the government aid was useful…only a little too late as my dad was admitted to the hospital in the month that the food stamps started to cover MOW. There are other issues that come to light when applying for MA. First off, it was a real eye opener going into the County Welfare office. Many times I called the phone line as my Dad was assigned a case worker and a specific appointment time to be available to receive the case worker’s phone call. The receptionists at the MA office would either pick up the phone and set it down or not answer at all. It was very frustrating to try to get in touch with the CW. We missed the phone appt that we were assigned. When applying for MA you are given a date and time that you need to be responsive to. My dad was not able to be mobile at 0830 in the morning. He missed the call. I panicked, could not get through to the office. I decided to write the CW a letter and fax it to him. He responded to the fax and we connected via phone. He was very helpful. We cooperated and got all of the necessary paperwork, forms of identification, proof of income, and residency, checking account balances, monthly SS income, car registrations and insurance, life insurance and house insurance etc. Many of the insurance policies we left go as my dad had 2 vehicles (a car and a truck). You can only drive one at a time! We didn’t have any homeowner’s insurance, limited life insurance and no long term care insurance. My parents only had medicare part A and PACE. By the way an interesting fact…my dad’s monthly social security income is less than that of someone who comes to the USA from another county and applies for SSI. SSI applicants get over $700 per month and have never worked a day in the US! My dad was a veteran and self-employed business owner for over 50 years paying taxes and social security his whole life….Hmmm something is drastically wrong with this picture. Many people collecting SSI also just send the money to their homeland….not even spending the money in the good old USA so as to keep the economy going….Ugh!
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