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I have to work every day and cannot be there. It had to be covered by insurance she does not have much money.

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If doc is worried about being looked into, something is fishy.
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If you want your Mom to qualify for Medicaid, go to an elder care attorney in your state and ask him to set up a qualified income trust....then she will qualify for Medicaid, but they will take almost all of her income to pay for her care and if you want to bring her extra food or clothing, you will have to pay for those items because your Mom can't. She clearly needs care 24/7. She does not have to change doctors even if she goes to a home.....but someone has to pay for the transportation to and from the doctor and they charge extra to send someone with her, which is necessary if she has panic attacks.
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My mom does not have Alzheimer's, she is 92, has fibromyalgia, neuropathy and major panic attacks, cannot see very well, cannot hear very well. She does not qualify for Medicaid because she make 1000.00 a year too much. She is homebound. She will not change doctors because he provides her with meds that she wants (Xanax) & refuses all other care but me
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I looked Mom in the eyes and said, "Mom, your eyes are fine. You did not fall because you can't see but because your legs are weak. I know the exercises you have to do to strengthen them. She is reluctant to do them with me but I will try to make my own PT exercises fun and does anyone know if Medicare would cover PT at a local place where I get my bursitis PT since she is not officially homebound but is afraid to walk outside the house because she fell last week and hurt her knees and does not want to end up in a wheelchair or a nursing home. My advice is keep coaxing the stubborn old folks that they must walk or before they know it, they won't be able to get out of the chair forever.
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In order to get short term home health care, covered by Medicare, your mother would need to be considered "homebound". It doesnt sound like she is. Have you applied for Medicaid?
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If your mom's doctor won't give your Mom what she needs because he is worried about government scrutiny more than he worries about his patients, you need to find your Mom a new doctor. I have had to exercise my HCS rights to get my mother to a better primary care doctor because the one she had was really bad at prescribing the right medication for her. The elderly don't always thank the caregivers and you have to remind yourself that it is part of the disease. If I were in end stage Alzheimer and could not speak.....I'd use every dime I have to get some barbiturates to end my pain whether it is legal or not. They don't put dead people in jail and death is better than terrible pain. Can you even imagine having a brain that is broken and being unable to learn simple new tasks? I could not handle that. Just because you are an overstressed caregiver who needs to hire somebody to give you a break once a week does NOT make you a bad person. It makes you a human being who loves her mother. My mother wants me to wait on her quickly....but as soon as she sees me limping around the kitchen making her a salad plate, she realizes I'm doing the best I can at the only speed I can handle thanks to very painful bursitis.
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Good luck, my moms doctor will not let her have in home services because he said that the government will look at him harder...Im the only one in the family that takes care of my mom...she will not use her walker when going to the doctor and has become quite mean & grumpy to me & wants to argue about politics. She wants me to wait on her! I get it she is old, tired, cranky & has some pain...I help her 4 + days a week but I cannot fix everything & I could could use a thank you once in a blue moon. Now I will start feeling like Im a bad person because I feel this way...Help?
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Home Health people were contacted. They did an evaluation of my Mom. Moved her from NH to Assisted Living with home health care & PT & sitters. They ordered a hospital bed, wheelchair & had it delivered & set up bed. (Medicare pays & they are rented & after a year they are supposedly yours) Ordered her a pressure type gel mattress (it is not fancy but the bed does go up & down, head comes up & maybe the middle to foot area also. She was wheelchair bond & like someone else the doorways, etc. don't accommodate older homes for wheelchair use & the corner turns & bathrooms are also a problem. The into & out of front door & backdoors are between 4 & 6 inches high. However after 2 1/2 months of additional PT after having had 4 months PT at the NH (waste of time), she went from wheelchair to alum. walker, to rollator & has gained a good bit of strength. Stamina is still not optimium. The guy came 3 times a week one on one for almost 2 months & now it is down to once a week. She had a bike type piece of equipment along with band excersises to do also. We practiced her walking to the van & lifting rollator into rear of van & out a few times & her walking to the passenger seat getting in & out & back to get the rollator & back to her room. This was a fairly long distance to & from her room with the PT assisting & she was tired. But now she knows what it will take besides getting ready & eating 2 meals before she did all this. However, the problem now since she is better is she has been refusing to take her meds. Plus all of us helping have all had this viral stuff going around. Her goal is to get home. The hair & nail thing works too. But not taking the meds makes her hard to deal (she does have beginnings of dementia) but she will understand when she doesn't go anywhere like home. She could go to in house activities but she chooses not to (old people she says & she's 87), WalMart every Wed., out to lunch or dinner with the other residents planned ahead of time. So I truly understand & can get the frustration when you feel like they really don't appreciate what you are trying to do by helping them get better. Oh I forgot..there is a nurse practitioner that I signed her up for that makes house calls & Medicare will cover that too. This lady has almost better credintials than a doctor. I needed her badly on a Sunday afternoon-Mom was sick. She can administer shots & write or call in meds. No ER! By the way, there are now these trauma centers that I found out will see you in less time than the ER & most insurance will cover their service. A friend got bit by a dog they fixed her up. Another had a reaction to something they ate or took & they helped him too. They have a full staff just like a ER or a clinic. Good luck!
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Contact your town's COA for some visiting nurses to come in and assist.
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Watch when getting equipment thru Medicare. If u get one thing may not be able to get something else later.
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My husband is being discharged from a rehab facility and will be coming home this week. They are prescribing a home health aide, a physical therapist, and nurse visits. As I understand it, Medicare pays for all of this. We are also getting a wheel chair and some other medical equipment. So be sure to check to see what you may be able to get. I'm not sure how long one can continue to receive these services. I just had knee replacement and my insurance paid for a walker. So I have that as well. I found a hospital bed that someone didn't want and have it set up for him. I had to buy a new matresses..just hope it's comfortable for him.
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Call your local Office of aging. Should be under County Gobernment. See if she can be evaluated for help. Your income should not be figured in. I live in NJ and have OA in my county.
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Well I don't seem to being any help here so good luck to all of you that have the knowledge that I don't :-) Stay safe
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My Aunt is 95 and becomes very weak when she doesn't use her muscles. She goes to an Adult Day Program one day a week that she LOVES. 'Course it was like pulling teeth to get her to try it. But that's another story. I have 3 steps from my porch to the sidewalk--no ramp. In the past she, too, refused to use a walker and because of multiple falls and breaks she now has no choice. Now, if she has a fall/break she will likely end up in a wheelchair. So, when she doesn't want to exercise I remind her of 2 things. If she loses her strength, she won't be able to go up and down the stairs and will not be able to go to the Adult Day Program OR to get her hair and nails done. That's a big motivator. And I remind her that if she ends up in a wheelchair I will no longer be able to take care of her as my home is small and the doorways will not accommodate a wheelchair which would mean she would have to go to a NH. She is motivated to continue to exercise with both these statements. Perhaps your Mom has something that you could remind her she will lose if she gives up walking.
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Wow, its as if I typed this myself, we have both a brand new Rollator, and an aluminum walker, but my FIL refuses to use the light weight one in rhe house. PT, has been shelved for now, by my stuborn FIL, but at the next fall that he takes, I'm going to demand 911 come out to the house to help him up, in attempts to reinforce the nessessity for home PT, with an expert! Good luck to you! And ME!
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Some churches have loan-out closets for medical equipment.
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Not JUST the walker, but strengthening exercises too. Mother actually refused to do any, and in one year she went downhill so severely, they do not think she will ever regain the strength she lost by refusing to do 15 minutes of strengthening per day. Walkers can be deceptive--people tend to hang their heads down to see the ground, instead of looking ahead to see obstacles, etc. Before long, they can become bent over in a C shape-- and then they have a lot more problems, back and hips will really start to hurt. Mother is going through this now. She just wants pain pills, but those make her fall--she needs to strengthen....even at 86 she can make some improvement.
If money is an issue, the aluminum walkers are quite cheap, or check the want ads. I think Mother has a used one.
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I think providing a walker or a cane for your mother might be a great idea. Insurances usually cover that if you cannot afford the cost. It would also help to install a metal bar in the shower as well, and a seat to prevent falling. Insurance should also be able to cover some physical therapy for your mother. they can even come into your home
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Medicare provided a walker for my mother. I put tennis balls on the end to stop it from rolling down a ramp. She hates it and feels it makes walking less enjoyable. I showed her some of my physical therapy strength training exercises. She does not feel like doing them....but whenever she asks why she can't walk....I remind her that it is not because her eyes are bad, but because her legs are too weak and I do a few exercises with her. She has been walking a lot all her life but at 90, her muscle strength is very poor. She also has dementia and cannot be left alone, per her geriatric psychiatrist, so I have to take care of her or hire someone to walk with her. Since she hates the walker, holding her by the arm every time she walks outside the house has prevented her from falling and breaking anything. If you work, you have to hire someone to take care of your mother if you want in home care. Medicare will cover physical therapists but not 24/7 care when she can't walk at all. If she has very little money, Medicaid might be an option, but always should be the last resort.
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If she doesn't have a walker try the American Legion. Down here they have them and let you use them for long as you need it. When I had to use one my husband put a bike basket on the front so I could put things in for lunch etc.
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Glad for the information,,I have had back fusion surgery that failed, in 2008 Now I need some help with walking, Thank You, I will go see my Doctor as I don't feel like driving 40 miles round trip. Marilyn
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My 91 year old Mom has trouble walking. Exercise at any age helps strengthen the muscles and improves balance. Our Primary Care Physician ordered Home Health Care and the Physical Therapist comes twice a week to work with her. Medicare pays for it if the Doctor orders it. Right now they reason that she needs "endurance" so we still have the service.

Yesterday the physical therapist came and went through all of her exercises with her. She does not like to do them but I am urging her to do them daily to prevent falling.

Then we have several types of canes, a walker and a wheelchair. If we are going a long way I use the wheelchair. The cane helps her steady herself on short walks. The Walker is great for any length of walk if you can get them to use it.

Good luck. Gentle nagging is appropriate here to prevent injury.
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Lots of in home therapy services paid for by Medicare. It will really help your mom. Call some physical therapy centers and get the details.
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YES, go up to the Search Site box and enter her city and state and lots of information will pop up.
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