10/19/2008

I actually had to look at the date... didn't even know what month it is. Things with my mom continue to spiral out of control. We did a two week stint in the hospital again. Started with more fluid buildup, led to heart failure, then a new twist emerged.... pneumonia. Now there is a treat. What an awful way to wrack your body.

Here is some of the frustration we are dealing with:
She was so ill, we tried to get the medical power of attorney enacted. We had this drawn up with the lawyer when my father died 17 years ago. You think you have your bases covered and they pull some crap out last minute to foil you....

We learned that it means nothing until you have to have 2 doctors sign that someone is mentally incompetent. (how demeaning).... A psychologist came to eval her, she had her best day in months, and voila.... totally competent. I'm sure I will get to pay this jerk too... Means we have no rights to full disclosure, and do not get informed when decisions are made. I guess it doesn't count that I had been spoon feeding her, she was hallucinating for days, thought I was her sister, not her daughter, rang the nurses bell repeatedly without cause or knowledge of doing it... The competency decision was based on a 20 minute chat. She signed herself out of the hospital without even knowing what paperwork she was signing. Now the nursing home is making decisions for her (well she is really making those decisions, right?)

I'll let you all know about a little "trick" the nursing homes pull called "bed holds" in another blog. We now owe thousands of dollars in legal coercion/strong arm robbery just to guarantee they will take the residents back when they are released from the hospital. Medicare and private insurance doesn't cover this. You do.

It is nothing short of criminal what they do to the elderly and the families who are already emotionally fried by watching their loved ones deteriorate and spend their last days so unhappy and uncomfortable.

We can also talk in the future about the "loose books" of estate sale people. They sent a puny check to me (no way was it the full intake) and then had the nerve to use my father's antique uncancelled stamp collection as postage...I swear.

I could keep going, but really it serves no purpose.

Oh yea, forgot to add... I'm back to work full time. I'm feeling better health wise, but not really back to normal, yet.

Sandy had her rant... I guess this is mine.