So the morning after that very successful evening of moving my dad into that fabulous assisted living place, I get a phone call.
“Hi, your dad fell in his room and we sent him to the hospital.”
WTF. I was floored. Could this be happening? The world around me stood still. I waited to see if I would actually wake up from a horrible nightmare or a ridiculous joke that the universe was playing on me. And I didn’t wake up. This was REAL.
So what happened was, my dad had a good morning. He ate breakfast and then he went back to his room. The nurse gave him his medications, and then BOOM. He fell face forward. He was in his room alone. Other residents heard his cry for help, and the staff members went in his room and found him on the floor. He was coherent and talking. He stood up and there was blood all over his nose and (according to Eve) all over the bathroom door, as well. He said he didn’t know what happened. Protocol at The Pass Through The Hills Facility is to call 911 whenever a fall happens, no matter how menial it is. And so they rushed him to the hospital.
He’s now at this different hospital in Orange County. The hospital then calls me to inform me that his Medi-Cal had expired.
WTF. I was floored yet again. What do you mean EXPIRED? Is this real? I felt the tension rise from the pit of my stomach, up my spine, into my shoulders and then into my head. I wanted to scream.
After a few moments of gathering myself (at work), I took a deep breath and reminded myself that they will not kick him out into the street, insurance or not. He’s safe. I am taken care of, I thought as a statement of wishful thinking.
Then after much pondering and inquiries, I realized that I had missed doing his Medi-Cal re-evaluation thing that is required every few years. That voice inside my head that thinks I’m a bad daughter immediately came back to visit my head at that moment.
So then I was having conversations with this new hospital. I also called the attorney I used to get my dad Medi-Cal in the first place. They were closed for the long weekend. The social worker of this new hospital was trying to figure out what to do with my dad. After multiple tests, the doctors had claimed that my dad was ok to go back to The Pass Through The Hills. And then the facility decided that they didn’t want to accept him back until they did an evaluation on him.
WTF. I was floored yet again again! HE HAS TO BE ACCEPTED BACK?!!!!! He just effing moved the eff IN the other day and now he has to be accepted back?!
I actually totally got the reasons why they wanted to re-evaluate him. But I was mad at the universe for continuing to test me.
Finally, the facility decided to accept him back and out of the kindness of their hearts, provide a caregiver to be with him 8 hours a day. I had explained to them previously that I couldn’t manage paying for the rent for the facility + an 8-hour a day caregiver. And they thought my dad needed extra support as he gained his own strength back.
The hospital also provided my dad with an ambulance ride back to the facility as a charity gift. They also provided a home-health physical therapist to come to the facility to help him gain his physical strength back.
I am FLOORED by the generosity of this hospital, and of this facility. None of this would have happened if I didn’t take on the responsibility of being ineffective in completing all of my dad’s affairs… from renewing Medi-Cal to seeing the signs that he was likely to fall.
The universe tested me. And I passed the test.
Adventures with my Elderly Father 