Medicaid, Mike, and Me

Thursday afternoon I had a very good meeting with a lawyer about an hour north of here. It's a small law firm that Mike's brother found online for me. Thank you, Mark! I am much more comfortable with a small firm than those mega-firms. I had worked for several hours each day to get all the information together in order to complete the pre-meeting questionnaire that included the past 5 years financial information. It was actually good as I needed to get bank statements balanced and up to date, because I had fallen behind in the past couple of months. It was also beneficial as I discovered that in 2014 I had failed to categorize several checks in Quicken. This was skewing the reports and needed to be rectified. Don't know how I had missed that previously, but at least it's fixed now. Just took time.

The lawyer seems to believe it will not be a problem to get Mike on Medicaid, since we have very little. Even his insurance and LTD from his previous employer should not pose a problem. I thought this was part of the hang-up when I applied previously, but evidently it was because Mike was not yet on Medicare at that time or something. I'm the one who stopped the process the first time, because I decided to keep Mike at home and realized Medicaid would not be helpful in that scenario. I also believe God prevented me and any organization from getting him on Medicaid previously, because The Harbor is not Medicaid approved and they were the ONLY facility willing to take him at that time 3 years ago. Our God is the Awesome God. Even Central State had told me that they were applying for Medicaid for Mike and I never heard any more about it. Where did his application go? God's messengers whisked it away, perhaps. 😊 It just wasn't the time.

I have spoken with the social worker at Appomattox Health & Rehab (AH&R) and she said I need to check with my local DSS office and see what other information they need from me. I assume it's basically what the lawyer wanted and so believe I'm ready to provide what they need, when they need it. My meeting with the lawyer gave me a lot of peace of mind and he would not even charge me for the hour he spent with me, even tho the papers I signed when I came in said there would be a charge. He is going to check one thing with the Commissioner of Accounts where I file my conservator paperwork each year, but said he didn't do anything yet, so no charge! Very kind act from one Christian to another and a blessing from the Lord.

On Wednesday, I was able to take Mike outside for a while. He was in a wheelchair and it's quite hilly right outside the building, so we didn't venture very far. I was afraid to go down a hill because we might get going too fast and then I might not be able to push him back up the hill either. I walked the halls with him a long time. A big difference between this facility and The Harbor is that this is not a locked facility and not everyone here has dementia or Alzheimer's, so it is nice to be able to communicate with some of the other residents as we roll around the halls. He also had a roommate on Wednesday, one hand-picked by God. Prayer works. His roommate is a kind, elderly gentleman that we'll call Mr. A. I don't know if he's there for rehab or long-term, but he was cold and was having trouble covering himself up, so I helped him a couple of times and he was most appreciative. He just tried to sleep most of the time I was around.

I thought Mike seemed a little better on Wednesday. He seemed to listen as I read our friend's newsletter to him, he ate soft foods (NOT all pureed!), and even helped me change his shirt. Still not talking. I know Speech Therapy had evaluated him on Tuesday and must have said he could have mechanical soft foods. He had mashed potatoes, green beans, and meatloaf. The ticket said minced green beans and meatloaf, but it wasn't. I broke up the meatloaf a bit more, but he handled the cut green beans and meatloaf very well. I'm sure he enjoyed them more than pureed. They certainly looked more enticing. I had hoped to be there when PT worked with him, but she was running late and I needed to go work on the papers for the lawyer the next day. I was able to speak with her and she said he had stood, but that was all on Tuesday. We talked about pain and I told her about him needing Tylenol scheduled. She was going to follow-up on that.

The facility was a busy place on Wednesday. Doctors and PA's, therapists, a reunion of those who had been there for rehab, plus all the regular RN's and CNA's, administrators, resident's rolling around, etc. It has a pleasant feel to it, friendly amid the chaos of call-button beeps, phones ringing, people talking and moving around. "That beeping would drive me crazy," I said to one of the nurses. I hear it even when I'm at home, she said. Ugh, poor people.

Friday I spent the day trying to catch up with my flowers and dispensing with the weeds that had overtaken my wildflower garden. I was weary of being on the road and seeing my flowers suffer and weeds thriving. I felt like I was on a time crunch since it was supposed to start raining Saturday night, so I packed about 3 days worth of work into one and my back told me about it too. Also, on Thursday night, I felt like I had gunk in my throat. By Friday morning my voice was mostly gone, but I didn't feel bad. Friday night, my body ached and my throat and head started hurting, plus I started having a dry, hacky cough.

I had planned to go see Mike on Saturday, but I was sick. I didn't go anywhere. When I got up, it was lightly raining. I was sad because I hadn't been able to finish cleaning out the weeds and put down the seed I had, but I was grateful to be lazy. I did set up the Media Shout program for the church service, thankful that Pat was going to run it on Sunday for me, since I was fairly sure I wouldn't be there. I went back to bed at 11:00AM and didn't arise until almost 2. About 2:30, it wasn't raining and I was needing to get outside. I seized the time, even though I didn't feel very good and spent a couple of hours finishing my wildflower garden. I praised the Lord for strength and holding off the rain until I could finish. Then let it rain! It did, last night and today off and on. The gauge says we've had about 3/4".

Today I slept in, read my Bible, looked at FB, watched all 5 sessions of the Ann Voskamp "One Thousand Gifts" DVD. Thanks, Bobbi! Plus even sketched a picture which I haven't done in years. My daughter-in-law, Amy, shared a darling photo of their two girls and I have wanted to try to sketch it, so I did. It doesn't look exactly like the pic, but it was fun and a nice change from my normal. I find it hard to truly rest and relax, but I believe God "made" me do it the past couple of days and I think I definitely needed it. I've told my Mom before that sometimes I don't have the sense God gave a turnip! 😄 Learn to be still, quiet, trust. This was the verse I read on Saturday night before I went to sleep:

Isaiah 30:15

"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, 

'In returning and rest you shall be saved; 

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.' But you were unwilling,"

Lord, help me be more willing to be quiet, rest, return to you and trust. As always, You are working everything out for our good and I need to trust and to rest.

My Mom's sister, Lynn, has stayed with Mom ever since my sisters all returned to their own homes after Dad's service. What a blessing she has been to Mom and what peace of mind she has given me. Lynn being here has allowed me to take care of things for Mike without being concerned about my Mom and what a joy for my Mom to be able to spend this precious time with her sister. Thank you, Lynn! I've been able to rest at my little place, knowing that Mom is well cared for and not alone. Last night I rented and watched the movie "Same Kind of Different as Me" online. Today I set it up for Mom and Lynn to watch with the Chrome-cast we all gave Mom for her 89th birthday. A good movie based on a true story.  I read the book a few years ago.

With Mike being closer, he may even get more visitors. I'm thankful that Hugh and Tracey went by to see him on Friday as they headed out on their anniversary trip. Mom Rice and Lynn will be coming this week. I'm especially glad for these visits since I'm sick and don't want to share with the residents. Even in this, God provides. Why do I fret?

Several verses have helped me get through the past 3 weeks. Whenever I was overwhelmed and stressed or didn't want to do what I had to do, I repeated these over and over and over. I will leave you with them:

Philippians 4:13 

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

2 Corinthians 12:9a

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Isaiah 26:3

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."