It has been a crazy week for all of us and especially for Liz. Liz has been the point person for all the issues related to Mom and Dad. She had been taking care of getting them to doctor appointments, etc. for some time, and the level of activity really accelerated recently. It is wearing on her as she has been over there many days and is constantly on the phone with nurses, doctors, etc. The rest of us are pitching in as we can. I think Dorrie is getting over to visit a lot after work and has helped in many other ways. David got them a new phone and is getting their phone plan straighted out.
MB and I are trying to take care of Dad's finances. We were down there for a couple of days visiting and spent a lot of time going through their papers. Mom still has her own accounts and she seems fairly on top of them. Dad's, however, are less clear and Dad doesn't remember much. There are a number of unpaid bills and it's not clear where all the assets are. Really wish we had done this sooner; however, I don't think he was willing to allow it until fairly recently.
Yesterday, Dor, Liz, Dave and I met with the Lima folks to talk about what happens next. Lima has three levels of residence: independent apartment, assisted living (a couple of nurses to administer meds, help bathing, and keep an eye on them), and skilled care. For the moment they are both in skilled care at Granite Farms. They would like to go back to their apartment at Lima. Mom's doctor said that she should go to assisted living permanently (I don't think she knows this yet). I think she might be able to go within a few days as she is doing pretty well. Dad has a lot further to go. I worry a little that he may never get out of the skilled care unit. Please pray for them and especially for him.
The whole issue of their living arrangement is a question that won't be completely resolved for some time. We think it would be good for them to end up in the same assisted living unit (they would have separate rooms, but be near each other). How this pans out depends on them qualifying health-wise to live there as well as Lima having rooms open. If Lima does not have rooms available, they could end up in a sister facility at least temporarily. Hard to say at this point.
Oh, and Mom's doctor said that she should not drive any more (yes!) but I don't think he told her himself (a nurse told her). I think she still needs to hear it from him. Anyway, there is enough going on at the moment so we are avoiding that subject. She is nowhere near the car and Liz or Dor has the keys.
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