Wednesday, a woman from the State of Michigan came to my house to discuss adult caregiving. It’s like that now! We received a letter in the mail, stating that she would be here on Wednesday. It would be between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Right off, that time doesn’t work for me at all! But I made it happen! It was difficult for sure! She did not arrive to my house until about 1 o’clock? She stayed here for about a half hour and she asked me about five pages of questions.
Here’s the thing, I have been going to my neurologist for the past 24 years, every year. I was told to come every six months but as a single mother, who was a teacher, I could only afford the $25 that it cost me to see the specialist once a year. But now, I am so far gone that I completely know how to handle it. Not that it’s easy at all but I’m handling it.
I answered, “Yes” to every single one of her questions she asked me about my weight and she, too, said that I have a good weight. That’s the only second time I’ve heard that in my life! She asked me a lot of questions about my skin and I told her about my pressure sores from April to November 2022. I thought it was odd that she asked me about brushing my teeth. I told her that I have an electric toothbrush.
She asked all kinds of questions about how much medication I take daily and my Mom and I answered them without a problem!
I think it was in 2014 when I got fitted for a custom manual chair. I was still working then and I remember the litany of questions I got being so uncomfortable for me! Thinking about it, a decade later, it’s not a problem anymore.
Toward the end of her visit, she told me that there is a, “code” on my account that is preventing her from paying my Mother for the care she is giving me. She then told us that she is going to open a new inquiry or something about this and she told me that it could probably be February before it gets resolved.
Red Tape!!!
I don’t understand how this happened because I was a teacher when I was working, so I was not rich at all. This woman looks like a very seasoned person who has been doing this job for a while, so I hope she can figure it out.
When she left, my Mom closed the door, and I looked at her and told her, “I said ‘yes’ to every question she asked me!” I let that statement sink in for just a moment before I looked at my Mom and said, “This is sad.” My Mom hugged me as I started to cry.
I told my Mom this afternoon that it kind of feels like I’ve been punched in the face. She agreed. I never thought my life would be like this, but of course it would!
I am foregoing my haircut in November to take my chair to get its new actuator and pelvis stabilizer. It’s in the hydraulics at the base of the chair and a seatbelt. So, I have a lot of time to think and I have a lot on my mind right now! I’m not even sure how to navigate through it right now but it’s happening… it was a rough day today…