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I ask before - no response. But, I have an invalid wife - Age 75. Stage 4 breast cancer, into her lungs and bones. 24 hrs oxygen, and blind. Any loss of home power - if I am not here - would be detrimental and life critical to her. Question? Are there any Agencies, Medicare, Tricare, VA, IRS, etc. that would assist financially in installing a whole house generator. WE would need at least the 1st floor. Help...

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I would:

1. Ask your DME oxygen supplier to increase the number of backup E tanks at your house. If she's on 2 liter flow, an E tank is supposed to last about 6 hours, or 4 per day. I ordered a dozen tanks last time. That would be enough for 2 days.

2. Research motels in your area and find out which have standby generators. An ambulance could transport her to a motel for the duration of the power failure. Even though it would be costly, it is a solution.


When this happened to us, I called several different places, for about 3 hours, before finding a place to take my father. EMS would only take him to a hospital if he was in respiratory distress already. I wasn't going to wait for that to happen.

Some of the charities like Salvation Army offered shelter, but I would have had to bring all the tanks myself, and make sure that we found a spot close to an electrical outlet. I also didn't think that being with a lot of strangers would have been a good option.

SNFs wouldn't consider taking him; he had to have a chest x-ray in the last month, and there was no guaranty they would take him. In fact, they refused - didn't want the responsibility. And one was a SNF to which I had taken him for 4 - 5 times post hospitalization.

The option that did work was provided by caring MOW staff, who contacted a local AL facility that offered free shelter for several days until power was back on. Obviously there's a possible benefit to them as they're looking for residents.
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Given your wife's condition rather than installing a whole house generator - which can easily cost $10K - my contingency plan would be to have enough oxygen available to last until I am able call 911 to have her transported to hospital.
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Garden Artist,
Really impressed with your experienced answer!
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Call the Area Agency on Aging for ideas and suggestions.
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Not to my knowledge.
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