SNF Update

4 May

Barbara has now spent a little over 24 hours in the SNF. It’s different. She realized today that part of why it was making her uncomfortable was that she had become comfortable with the hospital setting. The SNF is more home like. It’s not a hospital. And that was making her uncomfortable. Continue reading

A Tale of Two Joes

4 May

Senator Joe Lieberman
US senator: No US citizenship rights for terrorists – Yahoo! News.

And I thought Joe McCarthy was bad. McCarthy just wanted to arrest and imprison Communists. Lieberman proposes stripping American citizens of all civil rights if said citizen “is found to be involved with a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the Department of State.” Continue reading

Guns, kittens, giant rats …

4 May

I love a good snarky comment. I really do. And let me tell you, this is a really good snark. It ranks right up there with some of the best I have ever encountered! What am I talking about? Why this:

Know what “Grunning” is? Well do I have a story–with guns and kitties–for you: http://bit.ly/9TgVKt
(from @KirkPWatson)

If you follow his link, and read the story offered by Kirk Watson (D – Texas State Senator), you will find a hilarious story about guns, kittens, and giant rats. Seriously. And you need to do that before you continue. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Continue reading

Barbara is leaving the LTAC today

3 May

Looks like today is the day. Moving to the SNF as soon as orders are finalized for transfer and medications are available at the receiving facility.

I sent a video to TPC just now

1 May

You should too! This is a great idea. Just a quick video of yourself asking “Do I look illegal?”. @GottaLaff will edit the videos together, and post the result on the web. The more, the better. I actually look Hispanic to a lot of people. In reality, my heritage is probably Black Irish. But that wouldn’t help me in Arizona.

Go here to join in, and help us make a statement: The Political Carnival: "Do I look illegal?"

Deepwater Horizon, BP, and Halliburton

1 May

What, you haven’t heard that Halliburton is involved in the massive oil spill currently despoiling Gulf fishing and shrimping, and threatening your favorite Florida beaches and the Keys4? Then read on. Continue reading

Socialized risk, privatized profit

29 Apr

All too often these days, big corporations have taken the profit when things go well, and counted on the government to bail them out when things go wrong. Recently we have seen huge bailouts of big banks and U.S. automakers. The automakers got huge loans, and at least GM has paid theirs back. I’m OK with using the resources of the Federal government to help out when there is an appropriate social need to meet, such as saving the jobs of all those auto workers. But I cannot accept bailing out corporations without expecting repayment.

Which brings me back to what prompted me to post on this topic today. The headline reads:

BP asks for defense dept. help in Gulf oil spill

So BP wants DOD to help solve their problem. Continue reading

Are we on the brink of another Civil War?

28 Apr

Driving in this morning, looking at the scary bumper stickers on the monster pickup trucks and SUVs, this Progressive Texan (yes, we exist) was contemplating the dangerous seditious rhetoric originating from the Far Right. I have to admit I was seriously considering whether I need to move my family out of the “Southern States” before the Confederacy rises again. Continue reading

I hate our “healthcare system”

28 Apr

So Barbara is being down-graded to a lower level of care. I suspected that the decision was not so much a clinical decision as a monetary one. I got absolute confirmation that it is not a purely clinical decision just this morning. Her doctor thought we had at least six days. This morning he was informed that “No, the deadline is tomorrow”. He is PO’ed. He is refusing to write the transfer order.

As far as he is concerned, he wasn’t given enough time to prepare for this level of care change (including narcotic weaning, among other things) and “They [the LTAC] have made plenty of money off her these many months, they can eat a few days” while he gets her ready in an appropriate manner.

I like this doctor. He doesn’t work for the facility directly, and can therefore buck their decision on this. And luckily, he is in a mood to do so.

Latest on Barbara’s Recovery

27 Apr

Today we were informed that she is not sick enough to stay at the LTAC. Unfortunately, she is also not well enough to come home, or even to go to acute rehab. She simply isn’t strong enough for either option. So, she has to go to a skilled nursing facility (SNF). For those not in the know, SNF is the politically correct term for a nursing home.

This decision is being driven entirely by the insurance company. SNFs are less expensive than the LTAC. Continue reading