Elder care, such as it is [View all]
Not an elder caregiver. Just a guy with an elder mother whose elder care is up in the air. My mother is 92, and until Monday I thought everything was just fine. Well, as fine as things could be for a 92-year-old.
She lives alone in an apartment in a complex in Florida. My sister talks to her every day or every few days. I call once every couple of weeks.
Long story short, she had a fall at some point between last Friday and Monday, and we ended up calling the police for a welfare check when she didn't answer her phone on Monday. They found her on the floor in her apartment, dehydrated and disoriented, but alive. Off to the hospital, where she feels like crap and according to my sister looks like she's at death's door. Living on her own is not really an option from this point on. Turns out her fridge was empty, and she was giving us a song and dance about how she gets out and about, takes a taxi to the grocery store, etc. That said, she always sounded fine. Alert, sharp as a tack. So that's a mystery.
In any case, in the hospital now, then to a rehab facility for 90 days, which is, I think, covered by Medicare. Maybe not. I'm not stupid, but I can't understand what is and isn't covered, and under what circumstances.
Then there's assisted living in her future. Maybe (see above, death's door). I can't afford it. My sister probably can't afford it. I have no fucking idea what to do now. I know my mother has been paying her rent reliably for more than 30 years, so that seems like a good sign. She has SS, SS survivor benefits, from my father, and whatever pension and/or survivor benefits from my father's pension and her own. What does that add up to? No idea. Maybe there's savings. Probably not.
Am I wrong in thinking this is like a version of Hunger Games for old people?
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