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JosephineEstill Asked December 2022

Trying to help new amputee figure out his rights. Any advice?

He's been in a rehab facility for a few days, and is in good shape (other than missing lower right leg). The Physical Therapist is saying he's in too good of a  condition for the insurance to allow him to stay. Where the heck is he supposed to go? His home (he lives alone, his wife died earlier this year). His bedroom and toilet/bath are on upper floor, kitchen and living are on ground level.


It's "possible" he can stay with a friend (with no stairs in the house), but not until after the Holidays. Today is 12/7/2022.


What are his rights here?

JoAnn29 Dec 2022
I had two friends that lost a leg below the knee from diabetes. Neither were able to use a prosthesis.

Rehab is for therapy only. Once a person has progressed as far as they can, insurance will not pay and the person is discharged. You can try "unsafe" discharge as a reason but you still have the problem, his house is not conducive to his disability. He may need to sell and get something all on one floor. You can see if he can get in home therapy where he can be taught how to get around. If he wants to keep the house, he may need to get a stair lift.

MACinCT Dec 2022
This is how insurance works. I assume he did his 21 days in rehab and he is now no longer ill. If he needs custodial care, that is not medical so it is discharge time. He has insurance right? He should get a prosthetic. If he is uninsured then mention this to the social worker. Each state is different on coverage. If he no longer can work, then he can apply for disability but the process takes 6 months or longer due to the backlog of post COVID long term cases.
One thing he can do if his stairs are clean is something my friend did when she had post op foot surgery but only temporarily disabled, was to sit on the stairs and schooch up and down,

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ZippyZee Dec 2022
Does he have a prosthetic? People with below the knee amputations can often lead normal healthy lives.

Look at Oscar Pistorious. He was a double amputee that was able to compete in the Olympus and also had the necessary mobility to murder his girlfriend,

MJ1929 Dec 2022
He needs to talk to the social worker there, as he's an "unsafe discharge." (Use that term.)

What plans does he have to go home eventually? Has the physical therapist taught him how to go up and down stairs with one leg? Does he have a prosthetic, and if not, how exactly do they propose he live in a two-story house?

Always make sure the right people know his entire story. Don't let him assume that because he told one person he lives in a two-story house with the bathroom upstairs that anyone else read it in his chart. Tell EVERYONE involved from the doctors, nurses, and social worker -- and the insurance company, too -- what his living situation is.

Ultimately he will have to be discharged, so some kind of plan must be made by him.

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