Several new developments: The Village must have decided that they had some dead weight to get rid of and people have been leaving left and right. Unfortunately in our estimation the wrong people are not being given a fair chance and the ones who should be leaving are still hanging on! Jon’s physical therapist was one of those who left and we are overwrought, to say the least! Jon’s therapy had been cut back earlier to 3 times a week and in the week Matt has been gone he hasn’t had therapy once.
When I questioned the director she had no idea why Jon wasn’t getting any at all. My guess is that the cut to three days was probably made due to the new way Medicaid is handling payments to rehab centers and nursing homes. Instead of the center billing Medicaid they, Medicaid, in their ultimate wisdom, are giving them a grand total of $3.91 a day per Medicaid patient to cover: all therapies, medication, wheelchairs and transportation.
Due to the lack of therapy there is a good chance Jon will be sent home at the end of October. We are still hoping to get him to Dodd Hall for some training for us but getting therapy there at the same time may be next to impossible.
Last week Jon had an x-ray of his stomach which still remains bloated. It showed the usual back-up in the bowels and was supposed to start a regular routine to address the problem. The x-ray also showed a part of his lower lobe of one lung and it looked suspiciously like he had pneumonia again so they set up a CT scan which was done on Tuesday. Thursday evening the results were back-yes, pneumonia- and they inserted still another PICC line (which they should have left in place the last time instead of removing it!) so they could start him on zosyn again. It’s a strong medication and needs to go into a larger blood stream.
I have had meetings 3 days this week and have only seen Jon in the evenings. They have changed his rising time so the night staff gets him up, dressed and in his chair before 7 so I expected to see him tired when I got there but he has seemed exceptionally whipped. He says he’s been having trouble coughing and has done quite a lot of it.
Tonight I got a call from the Village saying they were sending Jon to OSU--they weren’t sure of the reason--just that Dr. Conaway’s nurse practitioner had seen something on the CT scan she wanted checked out. Barb called to say that when she finally got in to see Jon the staff wasn’t sure why Jon was there, they were to check for possible pneumonia? and they were sending him to x-ray. Barb was livid. She explained about the scan and the medication so OSU called the Village. From what Barb could gather the Village sent him to OSU because they were understaffed and he could get better treatment there!!! Just got a text from her saying: “Dr said not a valid reason. Jon lives there. They can’t just send him out 4 the weekend. If they can’t find a valid reason to keep him he will go back 2night.” She added that the PICC line isn’t working right so they had to put in still another IV line to draw blood. Poor Jon! ...and poor Barb, she was looking forward to being able to go home by 9 and kick back and I came home yesterday to finally have my colonoscopy which had been rescheduled 3 times so I’m of no use at all. His Dad already left and said he’d be back tomorrow...no point in hanging around, I guess.
Barb called to say Jon left OSU around 8:30 and was headed back to the Village. ER couldn’t find anything they hadn’t already found and was being competently treated.
One other flaw in the ointment. We have had trouble with the applications for waivers for house modifications, a vehicle, outside professional help and the wheelchair. (While Jon presently has a wheelchair it is a loaner from the company and a new one will be made according to his specifications when the waiver comes through.) The first round of applications through Jobs and Family Services have been denied and we are waiting word on the second set. Some other grants are already out of money and none will be available until after the first of the year and are not yet taking applications. Those of you willing to help with a ramp email me at castanienm@yahoo.com and we’ll at least get started on that. Thanks.
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2 comments:
Man, I'm sorry to hear about the politics entering so heavely into things all the sudden and the return of physical illness. What a journey you've been on.
How involved is the ramp going to be? How long does it need to be? any switchbacks?
I can't help but add, the 3.91 a day is a great example of what I consider a great lie. That is, a group of political elitists who speak out of two sides of their mouth, on the one side, they tell us how compassionate they are and how much they care, on the other side, they speak to get our vote, their actions speak much louder than their words. Don't believe what they say, watch what they DO!
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