Hello to you JudithKB*, I know you are busy since your move and just wanted to greet you here. Your absence is deeply felt. Also I wanted to let you know that our Agent Orange petition is moving along nicely, thanks to you pushing me to go for it. If we are approved it will be a huge massive help financially.
Please take care and if you get a chance , let us know all is fine. Hugs and laughs and joy being sent over the "rainbow bridge" to you.
Hi everyone...I have been very busy what with remodeling this place and moving, unpacking, etc. This move has been great for me...at least it seems that way for now. Lots of nice people here and very friendly.
I read most of the posts here and my heart breaks for those that are on this journey. Even after the end of being a caregiver...the sadness comes over me like huge waves crashing on the shore. Then they go away but I know they will return. This part isn't easy either, but it has a lot more good then bad unlike the end of the journey like so many are facing or will be facing in the near future. Of course, for the younger ones like you dear Coco you will have a long life to look forward to and that is as it should be because you have been robbed from sharing so many good time with your darling Dado that you might have had if not for AD.
Like someone said...don't remember who....if you live through these hard years and they don't kill you...you will be OK. Thank God we have made it this far. I will be trying to post more now that I am getting settled in my new place. One of my "little" joys was redoing my bathroom. It is now black and white with HOT PINK rug, flowers, towels, etc.very girly. I smile whenever I go in there.
Hello dear judithkb* I hope all is well with you. Your last note you had had some trauma concerning your daughter, I really hope all is ok.
I understand if you cannot or do not want to communicate at this point. But, if you do, I want to tell you that we have just been settled 100% for the Agent Orange. He will now not be paid for by Medicaid in the Adult Foster Home, due to income increase. I have three choices, I can pay his $3400 a month care there out of pocket, bring him home and hire help...or...the VA facility in Hilo, two hours from here, is the only place that the VA will pay fully for him. After three sleepless nights tossing and turning and crying..(you think I would be ecstatic), I believe that along with our VA social worker we will be working on getting him a bed there. He is getting advanced and in dire need of physical therapy, which he does not get where he is at. He cannot walk at all, and needs that therapy. Also, I think...it is just time to put him in a more professional staffed facility. It has 75 patients all vets, and I know he will get lots of love there.
If this happens, I will be renting a little room close to the VA nursing home to stay in 3 or 4 days a week, and try to find someone to stay here at my house to be with the cats, water yard etc.
I am meeting up with Social Worker on Saturday to finish up papers such as fiduciary , etc. and nursing home placement. It is just.....I CANNOT BEAR to have him so far away, so I will have to move closer. He needs me.
Let me know please about anything I should know regarding our settlement. I did study the fiduciary book etc, and if it really happens next month and we get the funds, I hope that it is ok to simply put it in a savings account, what is left over.
You can email me if you want, it is in my profile.
Really miss you and hope you are well. This Agent Orange settlement and his 100% rating would not, have happened without your push. Wow. You rock.
Coco - if it is retroactive, it would not surprise me one bit for medicaid to come after you for reimbursement. Definitely something to keep in mind. Very happy to hear it came through and hope the extra money helps
yes thanks bqd its IS a very painful decision to move Dado, yet, maybe it is one of those blessing in disguise things. Aside from anything else, Dado is failing rapidly especially in the physical issues department, and there is just no access to help with that in the small family home situation he is in. Also, though I very much like the people where he is at, and it is so close to me, I see that they are getting a bit overwhelmed with him sometimes. They have one other patient who has heart issues, but otherwise is up and about and totally cognitive. I can see that this is so much better for them.
Charlotte yes, funny, I don't think Medicaid WILL come after us for that, but I am prepared for it. That is also a reason that I want to move on from that system. I am tired of having to "stay poor" for their help, and to report each and every income. You know, I also have been receiving "quest" medical from them due to our income, and I will be losing that. I will be able to now receive Champva medical from the VA because Dado is 100 percent service connected, I know it is not a perfect medical but it is better than nothing. And maybe I can find a plan I can afford, though I know these new funds are not supposed to be used for that.
It is 4 am...just could not sleep ....so much to think about. I am settled though in to the decision to move him and hope for a room at the nursing home. We shall see, even if I have to bring him home temporarily, I will.
COCO,I pray things will work out for you.I was so lucky to have a good NH so close to me for Sonny.Would be hard for me to have him too far away,but we always have to think first what is best for our LO.I hope finances will work out for you,it is bad enough we have all this worry and anguish about our LO we should not have to worry about being destitute. Good Luck!
Coco, i have a friend here in Kentucky who is receiving VA services with 100% service connected, related to agent orange. It is great. They have someone there every morn to help him bathe and get out of bed. Also have redone whole house to make it on one level as he is in power chair. So glad you have been awarded that, and so sorry it is now when you are having to place him. Of course it is great to have regardless. I am so thankful for 30 days of respite I receive from VA.
Nursing Home Care VA provides nursing home services to Veterans through three national programs: VA owned and operated Community Living Centers (CLC), State Veterans' Homes owned and operated by the states, and the community nursing home program. Each program has admission and eligibility criteria specific to the program. Nursing home care is available for enrolled Veterans who need nursing home care for a service-connected disability, or Veterans or who have a 70 percent or greater service-connected disability and Veterans with a rating of total disability based on individual unemployability. VA provided nursing home care for all other Veterans is based on available resources. VA Community Living Centers: Community Living Centers (CLC) provide a dynamic array of short stay (less than 90 days) and long stay (91 days or more) services. Short stay services include but are not limited to skilled nursing, respite care, rehabilitation, hospice, and continuing care for Veterans awaiting placement in the community. Long stay services include but are not limited to dementia care and continuing care to maintain the Veteran's level of functioning. Short stay and long stay services are available for Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care and require CLC services. State Veterans' Home Program: State Veterans homes are owned and operated by the states. The states petition VA for grant dollars for a portion of the construction costs followed by a request for recognition as a state home. Once recognized, VA pays a portion of the per diem if the state meets VA standards. States establish eligibility criteria and determine services offered for short and long-term care. Specialized services offered are dependent upon the capability of the home to render them. Community Nursing Home Program: VA health care facilities establish contracts with community nursing homes. The purpose of this program is to meet the nursing home needs of Veterans who require long-term nursing home care in their own community, close to their families and meet the enrollment and eligibility requirements. Admission Criteria: The general criteria for nursing home placement in each of the three programs requires that a resident must be medically stable, i.e. not acutely ill, have sufficient functional deficits to require inpatient nursing home care, and be determined by an appropriate medical provider to need institutional nursing home care. Furthermore, the Veteran must meet the specific eligibility criteria for community living center care or the contract nursing home program and the eligibility criteria for the specific state Veterans home. Home and Community Based Services: In addition to nursing home care, VA offers a variety of other long-term care services either directly or by contract with community-based agencies. Such services include adult day health care, respite care, geriatric evaluation and management, hospice and palliative care, skilled nursing and other skilled professional services at home, home health aide services, and home based primary care. Veterans receiving these services may be subject to a copay.