I haven’t said much lately about our newest houseguest. Partly because I’m tired, or busy, or just don’t have anything much to say.
Unfortunately, she has come to that horrible crossroads where fixed income meet health problems and the skyrocketing cost of care. I know I’m not nearly the only one dealing with this, nor is she, and don’t want to whine or even joke too much about the situation. It’s not fair to our family, who in the next months will be making some very tough decisions.
I probably won’t say much more about all that; it’s dawning on all of us that she probably can’t go home, and it’s hard to imagine her staying here for very long. We’ll figure something out.
And, if you’ve read this far, you deserve a little Calvination.
That sucks. I’ve seen my mom and aunts go through this before my grandma passed away and my dad’s dad is living with one of my aunts. On my in-laws side, they finally convinced Grandma & Grandpa to move back to Ohio (6 of their 9 children live there) from Florida.
I think this is the point where they say “Welcome to the Sandwich Generation.”
I’m naively avoiding thinking about it with my parents, mostly my dad, hoping that I’ll win the lottery for them before the need arises. When a broken washing machine puts them on a “can’t go anywhere or do anything” routine for three months until they can afford to fix it, I shudder to think what a true health emergency will do for them. My brother and I bought them a new washing machine, but we’re limited with how much more we can do. Sigh.
Here’s an example of what we’re up against:
Medicare won’t pay for skilled nursing home (without a hospital stay) or rehab.
Rehab cost’s at least $150 a day if they did pay for part of it.
She makes $1,400 a month from Social Security.