To my followers:
Just wanted to check in and let you know that I will be back next week!
All the things that I write about every week have been put into play over the last few days with my mother. During church on Sunday, she had a couple of episodes which led to a hospital admission. She is undergoing a cardiac workup and we are hoping for a discharge today! It seems that it may be as simple as a blood pressure medication adjustment (fingers crossed).
What I will be able to share with you later is how beautifully she was prepared with the information that they would need at the hospital making this out-of-town hospital admission as smooth as one could hope for!!! It has led to additional confusion for my father (he left me a message in which he indicated that it was ‘your son, Harry, calling’ but my siblings have been helping at that end……
Truly on the journey with you,
Kathy
On The Journey With Coach Kathy 
Our prayers are with you! Please look into her Medicare health insurance (there are available by phone 24/7) should you have to place her temporarily in a facility. I use to counsel beneficiaries of Medicare in CALIFORNIA and found out that there is a “3 day” rule that Medicare will provide/fund her stay in a rehabilitation hospital “after three days of hospitalization.” Should she be placed prior to the three days she is obligated to pay for the rehabilitation fee which could be tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, she/you have the right to stay in the hospital until “she” feels better and she has “adequate” care at home. If not, it’s up to the discharge planner to place her somewhere where her safety isn’t compromised. Again, this is California law and every cargiver should know and/or be familiar with the there loved ones health rules and regulations.
Thanks so much Sue! Mom is out of the hospital and we did not require post acute care, thank goodness. She needed some significant adjustments in her blood pressure medications! The Medicare requirements for the 3 day stay are something that I am very familiar with (previous post on this very topic!) Thanks for the prayers.
Kathy, wishing you and your parents all the best through this episode. Thinking of you. Take care of yourself too!
Thanks Jean! Knowing that there were followers out there pulling for Mom was a wonderful benefit of having this blog! Mom is out of the hospital after adjustments were made to her blood pressure medications (she was dropping way low- 50s/30s) and has since returned to her home state (though not to her home as she has no power at the moment due to violent storms the other night!). So, now my sister picks up the ball…… Caring for my parents has become a big team effort! But, it has given me things to write about in the future!
I hope your mom is out of the hospital by now. I am sending goo thoughts your way. I worry for older folks who don’t have family to look out for them.
The good thoughts that you were sending my way have worked! Mom is out of the hospital and back to her home state. She will follow-up with her doctor tomorrow to continue the work of getting her blood pressure medications finely tuned again. There are now additional issues to consider as June has been a very eye opening month with the parent care issue. Will be looking at a continueing care community where they both can go for a bit more emergency security and oversight! More topics to write about on my journey! 😉