I'm my wife's 24/7 caregiver and now we will both need 24/7 care. Any advice?

Dan, are you in the hospital now? Typically, there is a case manager assigned at admission and that person's job is to assess and coordinate all your discharge planning. Once they find you are a caregiver, they need to help with a plan to cover both of you, that is based on your insurances and finances. And who is with your wife NOW? Have you been already discharge to home? This seems impossible to have happened without any plans for rehab/physical therapy and a social worker involved who can coordinate local services for you both. Once both are at home, you may be able to find a private caregiver who would come in and help you both for one monthly fee, or a fee plus room and board, if you have room. You could arrange meals on wheels and have PT and other helpers come TO your home....but these types of things should have been arranged through the hospital discharge planning process if they knew your full situation. We just need more information to be of good help to you.

Are you a veteran? If so, there is Aid and Assistance for veterans and their spouse. The vet can qualify for about $1800 per month and the spouse for about $1200, but I'm not sure if you can get both. I use my mother's widow benefits from my dad's VA to pay for a lady 3 days a week. She works for $10 per hour and lives with us.

If you have been providing 24/7 care for your wife, then she likely would be eligible for "homebound" care under Medicare for her conditions or long term care / nursing home level of care under Medicaid (or maybe you have the ability to pay out-of-pocket for long term care). I would suggest you contact your Area Agency on Aging and see if they can help you with figuring out what your best options are. Seems like there should be sources available for your wife to receive care in the home. As for you, your insurance/Medicare should pay for the rehab and any skilled care you need and this can be provided at home. You may have to supplement with support from friends/family or out of pocket for personal care help (but this would not have to be skilled care it could be for as low as $20 an hour, or as low as you can get / find). wish you well

I wouldn't expect anyone at a Church to come out and physically take care of my Mom unless they had done that type of work. Usually the women/men in my Church will sit with someone so a family member can have time to themselves.

As for help from the church, when my grandmother was ill and bedridden, the church would send out 2 men to pray with her. Big help - NOT! Mother would have to get her cleaned up & change her bed & clean up the room so she could have company. It would have been better if their wives had come to help her get a bath, but that didn't ever happen.
As for care, did you have any insurance when you took that fall? Was it due to someone's negligence? If so, perhaps the insurance would pay for an inhome caregiver. That would probably be cheaper than rehab and a nursing home for your wife. My cousin pays $6000 per month for her husband's nursing home. I pay $1500 per month for my live in - part time (3 - 4 days a week) help. Mother's caregiver just found out that her friend is getting paid $2500 per month for 7 day a week round the clock care for a mentally disabled woman. Somewhere out there there's somebody who needs a roof over her/his head who would be happy to come in and help for a reasonable rate.
Are you a veteran? If so, the VA may be the best place to turn to.
BTW, Just Moi, if you have family that helps, you are one in a million. My family doesn't even call to see if we need anything. Occasionally I can get them for pay, but not much.

What about family? Are there some that can come in and help you both?

I don't know if your state has an Area Council on Aging but I am sure they have something similar. You can contact the state dept. of Health Services for local information. Anyways they can provide lots of information and immediate help. I agree that it may be best for your wife to be in short term care while you recover. A Social Worker/Case Manager will be the one that can put all of this together for you.

cwillie: That is correct. They only real help they could give you also is food preparers.

Tired, I don't know where you live or go to church, but if I told my pastor about a problem like this the only help I would be offered would be prayers.

Try asking your Pastor at Church. They can help till long term care can be set up

Den, sounds like you have a lot going on. You have couple of options, wife can go into short term care at facility which will allow you to get into rehab. Your other option is to hire in home caregivers. Since you both need 24/7 care it will be expensive but will keep you at home. Do you have anyone helping you now? Sounds like you need a case manager to help u sort things out.

Get your wife into a nursing home and yourself into rehab.

I'm surprised they released you under the curcumstances. Maybe ur wife can be put in a nursing facility until u can get on ur feet. Talk to a Social Worker from the facility u were released from. They maybe able to help with services.

Home bound? You need to be in the HOSPITAL!