ElderWeb

I found a wonderful blog created by a man who is caring for his middle-aged wife who has Multiple Sclerosis and their sixteen year old daughter. His blog illustrates that long term care issues are not limited to the "elderly". He cared for her at home for a long time, but has now had to place her in a facility, and he talks about the financial and emotional burdens of dealing with all of this, and helping his teenage daughter cope.

Some excerpts:

"March 15th (the Ides of March) will be the one year anniversary of the end of home care and the beginning of the care facility era ... Was the transition expensive? $28,965 is what we show on our tax statement for the year for '˜out of pocket'™ medical expenses beyond anything covered by medical insurance."

"At the risk of sounding like '˜Hints from Heloise'™, towels bars make great transitional pieces to grab bars. You can disguise the first appearance of grab bars by replacing your towel bars with grab bars. Repositioning may be necessary and make sure they are secured on studs. The bathroom may not look much different but has taken a big step toward accessible. Do it at your convenience, before necessary. I can testify that as an able bodied caregiver I personally have never met a grab bar I did not also learn to appreciate."

"Next to nothing is available to help with home caregiving, however on the other hand EVERYTHING is picked up once admitted to a care facility. There really is no middle ground and in a sense the passage to the care facility era is rewarded by the medical insurance industry. In a care facility with Medicare and private long term disability insurance plus Medicaid, Patti is receiving more medical attention, benefits, and therapy than ever before. I would be lying if I said I don't sometimes experience frustration when I see so many resources in use that I tried to get for homecare and was repeatedly turned down."

Read his blog at: http://journals.aol.com/daddyleer/CaregivinglyYours/