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I grievously sinned against Lucy…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
She got a bath!
With my back so bad, she hasn’t had a bath in so long I’m not going to tell you how long it’s been. Suffice it to say it’s been ages.
She sure does smell better and is a lot whiter. I delight in the freckles that you can see under the clean fur.
She’s even wearing her newest Collar My World collar.
Posted in Dog related, MS related
Tags: Author, Caregiver, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Elder Care, Life, Love, Multiple Sclerosis
Homeward bound with a slight hitch
Posted by doggonedmysteries
DH claims he’s sane and has the paperwork to prove it. I think that paperwork might need redoing. The hospital is driving him crazy. He’s trying to get his mother released before her benefits run out. They want to add another elderly person to their profit margin.
It is my belief that no hospital, rehab facility, or nursing home should be run for profit. When it comes down to a company’s profit margin, which is what always comes first. Not the patient, not the patient’s family, to heck with the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm, they want money.
The psychiatrist who ‘talked’ to my mother in law today pushed her panic button. He mentioned selling her house.
This poor woman has a not very nice neighbor who has been trying to get her to sell him her house for the last five years. His methods have been heavy handed and, for her, scary. He’s backed off since DH, his best friend, and I had a few conversations with him. We used the words attorney, police, and terroristic threats during our conversations with him. I was not nearly as nice as the men were when I spoke to him. I’ve dealt with too many bullies over the years.
So naturally, when this doctor mentioned selling, her first thought was that the doctor now wanted her house. This put her in panic mode. Do you blame her? It took DH several conversations with the ‘powers that be’ to explain her reaction.
So far, she’s still going home on Saturday.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Is she crazy?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
My mother in law is 83. She lives with her Border terrier in a nice home. This woman pays all her bills and even pays her cable and fuel oil ahead for the year. When she needs something done around the house that DH or I can’t do she hires someone to do it. She takes care of her dog.
Now, because she fell, banged her head, and had the good sense to call 911 she’s in a rehab hospital. They have dosed her daily with laxatives and now claim she can’t hold her bowels. (Could you if someone gave you Colace every day?) She fell because she had an infection, which is now under control.
She wants to go home. She’s told them numerous times that she wants to go home. Personally, I think she’d be better off in an assisted living place but that’s not my call.
She’s not highly educated; she quit school in the eighth grade. Nor is she the brightest light in the harbor, but she does do well in her own home. Over the years, I have come to realize that she’s mildly agoraphobic. Being in a hospital situation frightens her. She’s easily intimidated.
Today they told DH she could go home on Saturday. A few hours later, they decided that they should have a psychologist check her to see if she’s competent. My problem with this is that most questions they will ask her are not relevant to her.
She doesn’t read books and she stopped her paper when the delivery guy started leaving her paper where she couldn’t get to it even after numerous complaints. She knows what year it is; she’s a bit fuzzy on the day, but heck, so am I most of the time. When you don’t work at a job outside the home, the ‘day’ isn’t that important. She watches the six o’clock news and her soap operas and is content.
She wants to go home where she’s comfortable. She wants to be with her dog. She wants to sleep in her own bed. Is she crazy?
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, crazy, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Buried alive in catalogues
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It would be such a waste if our city didn’t recycle. I struggled to take our paper recycling bin out the curb tonight. Filled to capacity the darned thing is heavy. We put most paper, cardboard, and pasteboard into our blue bins. All the junk mail goes. Sometimes my blue bin can wait for two weeks between recycling nights. However, it seems that this week we had an over abundance of junk mail arrive and it’s not even near an election right now. I pondered this for a while.
Then it hit me. Ah, yes. The bin contained catalogues. It had dozens of catalogues from every imaginable place for every item that exists. Why? “Tis the season and the catalogue storm has only just begun.
We spent far too many hours mining through the Mother-In-Law’s house while she was in the rehab hospital. Therefore, tonight I reminded Dear Hubby to make sure every catalogue she gets hits her bin over the next few months. I do not want to find her buried alive under an avalanche of them some time around Christmas.
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Recycling, Writer, Writing
Rest in peace, Mom
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Yesterday would’ve been my mother’s 94th birthday had she not died Jan. 1st 2007. Not a day goes by without me thinking of her at least once. When she’d visit me we would spend our evenings sitting near the pond enjoying each others company.
While I was visiting my Aunts and cousins a couple of weeks ago we talked about her and my father. They had some wonderful memories to share.
Happy Birthday, Mom. I put some roses by the pond for you.
Posted in In memory of...
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Keep medication lists handy.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
If you live with an elderly parent, someone who is chronically ill, or have a medical condition of your own, keep a list of their/your medications handy at all times. Dear hubby is on so many medications for his MS that I keep a list on my computer so I can print it out right before a doctor’s appointment. If we had to sit there and write them all down, it would take an hour so under ‘list medications’ we always put see attached. I also keep a print out in my purse, another taped inside a kitchen cupboard door, and one in each car.
The one inside the cupboard is in case of emergency—say needing EMS, then I can hand them the list of medications as soon as they come through the door. I keep his medication list updated monthly or as prescriptions change.
On more than one occasion, having a print out has saved us from forgetting some important medication that a doctor needs to know he takes. The last thing you want to do is forget to tell them about one. With our luck, that one interacts with whatever they decide to prescribe.
Posted in Misc, MS related
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Healthcare, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Writer, Writing
I hope that’s the last I ever see of Liberty Nursing and Rehab/ HCR Manor Care
Posted by doggonedmysteries
This morning Dear Hubby called Liberty Nursing and Rehab, he spoke to the head honcho about sending me in to pick up the remaining money in his Mother’s account there and she told him it would be ready when I arrived. I didn’t want to go back there. Oh, whom do I think I’m kidding? I couldn’t wait to go back and raise some hell.
I went into Liberty Nursing and Rehab/HCR Manor Care all set to pick up the money and, knowing them, expecting the worst. I found out I was right. I told the receptionist who I was and why I was there. She told me to take a seat and she’d have someone come to talk to me directly. Soon afterwards, Al showed up. Al told me, he didn’t have a check ready and that he’d mail one to us.
“Well, now aren’t you precious. No, you won’t mail us a check. You’ll get yourself back to your little office and you will cut a check NOW.”
“But, I’m busy doing payroll.”
“You have my deepest sympathies. However, I was told to come in and pick up the money and I’m not leaving here without it. How about this, why don’t you call your supervisor?”
“You want to talk to my supervisor?”
“Was I speaking in Latin? Did you misunderstand me? Let me say it again, nice and slow, so you can understand. G e t y o u r s u p e r v i s o r o u t h e r e.”
Al disappeared.
His supervisor arrived a bit out of breath and tried to explain that Al was busy doing payroll checks, and did I really want him to stop what he was doing to cut a check for us?
“Yes I do and yes, you will. I don’t care what he’s busy doing. I was told to come and get the money from my Mother-in-law’s account. I’m here and I’m not leaving without it.” Then I went on to say, “I’m a freelance writer, and this won’t be pretty.” (I didn’t mention that I was a mystery writer.)
She scurried away.
I sat in the lobby putting pen to paper while eavesdropping on conversations around me. I can’t help it I’m a writer. I do believe that when I flipped over my third page of the legal pad and began to write on the fourth the receptionist was getting quite nervous. On the other hand, could her nervousness have been caused by my making a point of reading the identification badges of every person who walked by?
About twenty minutes later, Al appeared with a check. It was for a mere $42.02. Which for many people wouldn’t be a big deal, but for us, what it came down to was the principle of the thing. It also felt real good to make them jump through my hoops.
As you can guess, there’s another Doggoned book in here somewhere and Linnie will be in the thick of it. I just need to think of the right title….
Posted in Misc, My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Physical Therapy, Writer, Writing
How security conscious is Liberty Nursing and Rehab–HCR Manor Care?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
One of the first things that Dear Hubby noticed about Liberty Nursing and Rehab (whose parent company is HCR Manor Care) was their complete lack of security. DH, a former police officer, is retired and on disability. With his certification as a crime prevention officer, it was his job to point out breeches in security. It angered him to see such an utter lack of or concern for the security and safety of the patients.
Half the time the main entrance door was unlocked at night and there was no one on the front desk. The door was always unlocked in the day time whether there was someone on the front desk or not. The facility is in a neighborhood plagued with documented criminal activity and vandalism. DH was quick to voice his concerns to the building director. Gosh darn it; his mother was a patient in there.
The building director spoke to him about various options that they had considered but had never implemented. Security cameras, security guards, yada, yada…. She then pooh-poohed all suggestions he made as unnecessary. Yeah, I too said, “what?”
The only change since his meeting with the building’s director was that they now never manually unlock the front door by key and they rely on the timed magnetic lock. He had watched many visitors and persons applying for employment try to open the door during the morning when the business was open. They would try turning the lever, it wouldn’t turn, so they’d walk away confused and muttering. They now rely on the timed magnetic lock When DH would be around the outside and saw the people he would stop them and explain that they simply had to pull on the heavy wooden door. Yes, I said a heavy wooden door, yet another obstacle for someone with a disability.
Posted in Misc
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Healthcare, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Nursing, Nursing Homes, Physical Therapy, Writer, Writing
MIL sprung from substandard nursing home/rehab facility
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Thursday Dear Hubby and I went to the HCR Manor Care Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to spring his mother from the facility. We had an appointment for 1:15 to sign her release forms. How unfortunate that they kept us waiting for a good 45 minutes. During that time, the staff began to get the idea that I was somehow not pleased.
The rules on how to deal with incompetent people who think they are superior:
- Be prepared to use police methods of interrogation and intimidation body language.
- Arrive early
- Have your verbal ammunition primed
- Stay cool and calm
Upon entering the facility I said loud enough to make certain everyone around the reception area heard me, “The ADA should see exactly how handicapped accessible this place is—NOT.” I had to wheel my MIL’s new wheelchair down twelve steps to get into the building. In the elevator, I voiced a few complaints about accessibility again. DH was enjoying this.
I roamed the hall for a bit, asking a few staff members if they knew where this meeting was to take place. No one did—what a surprise. Finally, a woman showed up in my MIL’s room at a quarter to two apologizing for running late. Before she changed the subject, I told her that the least she could’ve done was send someone in to us and let us know. I mentioned that it was rude to keep us waiting for as long as she did but knowing the facility, I gathered that rude treatment was par for the course. I hadn’t begun to tell her what I truly thought of the place and she was already stuttering. She beat a hasty retreat telling us she’d send someone with my MIL’s release papers.
An open letter to Healthcare workers,
If you don’t have any compassion or empathy for your patients, find another career. Why did you choose the job in the first place?
If you are burned out, quit and go into another field. When you are having a bad day don’t take it out on your patients their best day is probably worse than your worst day.
Always keep in mind that person in the bed could be you one day and treat them as you’d want to be treated. Do treat their family members, as you would want yours to be treated.
The person you are caring for is not a side of beef, no matter how far gone you think his/her mind is, you have no idea how much they really know about what is going on around them or what is being said.
The best thought to keep in your mind when working with a patient is “This could be me, my mother, father, daughter, son, or grandchild.” I’m betting, with that always in mind, you’ll treat your patients better.
You chose the healthcare field so do your jobs without neglecting, abusing, or belittling your patients. Do not treat elderly patients like children; they’ve earned the right to be treated with the respect due them.
Posted in Misc
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Elder Care, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Nursing, Nursing Homes, Physical Therapy, Writer, Writing
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