Mark, I'm so sorry you and Sarah have to deal with. A health scare is bad enough, but having to think about the financial parts of it on top of all that is just horrible.

I'll keep you and Sarah in my prayers!

Thank you all so much for your support.

Sarah is home and resting. I will be pulling more weight around here and my youngest daughter is also stepping up and helping out with the things that Sarah usually does say to day.

Sarah is primary care giver for her mother who lives with us. Her mother suffers from dementia but can dress herself and go to the bathroom by herself, although sometimes it gets quite messy. She does need help in the shower and I am looking for some outside professional help to perform that duty.

We will be fine. It's just going to eat into the retirement fund a little. I am happy we have that.

Medicare may cover intermittent (short-term) home health care in some circumstances. It might be worth it for you to check it out in your "free time." Good luck.

I think the j's are spring chickens and not yet on Medicare....I think that's why their deductibles are an issue....edit: Oh, wait, you mean Sarah's mom....

BTW, if you can get plugged into the network of caregivers you can find reasonably priced in-home services that can help with care for Sarah's mom, either in the short term or long term. There are often people working independently rather than through an agency and they can be much cheaper and still top notch. My friend who moved to the boondocks in Sequim, Washington tried to find someone to help her by contacting the local caregiver placement agencies. Not a lot of luck.

Once she signed up on Nextdoor and found the circle of caregiver people, she was able to find more highly qualified people at a lower cost than the agency options...

How terribly scary.

Sending healing thoughts.

Sorry to hear of this mark.

Thoughts and prayers.

I saw this on facebook but wasn't sure what was up.

So sorry and sorry to hear about the insurance crap. It is truly a disaster.

Once I hit 55 I started getting wierd sensations in my head and got scared anough to finally quit smoking for good -- will be two years in march.

Glad she's relatively okay.

The doctors diagnosed her as having a mini stroke. I am so glad we caught it before it became a major one.

Regarding caregivers, I think the best resource is word of mouth. Let it be known in your personal networks you are looking.

We found a superb private caregiver for my father through a friend of his who knew of a young woman, a former teacher, looking for work. We settled on minimum wage because she worked mostly 24/7, getting paid for sleeping and also time and a half for hours over 40 each week.

My wife Martha also works as a caregiver, looking primarily for longer tern assignments caring for women. She cooks and cleans as well. She charges pretty much agency rates ($20-$25 an hour) but the level of care and, if relevant, companionship is way better. With agencies you are dealing with many different caregivers each week. She gets new assignments by word of mouth and very positive references from the family members of prior clients.

I have also worked with agencies as part of my estate planning work and am less than impressed. I also had at least one case where an agency caregiver took a credit card and used it to purchase Dunkin Donuts credits online, which could then be converted to cash.

jf

Hope that is over.
My mother had minor strokes starting in her 50s.
She was bright and managed details well past the age of 85.
She managed well until her 93rd year, which is when we lost her.

Wishing you both the best, and Sarah all the rest she needs in order to recover. Scary unpleasant stuff. Glad you got her in quickly.

How are you guys doing?

Update?

Not much to report. She is basically the same. Been to a few appointments for follow up and OT/PT and that's about all we can do at this time. She is still unbalanced and moving slower than normal.

Meds, Time and Physical Therapy is the treatment plan.