Sometimes we get so stuck within our “frames” of reference that we don’t see beyond it. Yesterday I had an experience that helped me push my parameters and I began to think outside the box; not that I hadn’t jumped out of that box before, but I have been thinking that maybe it will be possible … to bring my mother back to New York. My parents left New York in the early 1980’s for health and financial reasons. My mother had been suffering her whole life from various allergies caused by all kinds of things. She was told to … Continue reading →

If I could construct a flow chart of a phone call to an elder lawyer today, you would see circles and arrows and if-then’s and more confusion than you’d care to know about. Just envision your shoelaces tied into thousands of knots. That’s what comes to mind. That’s how I feel, like one of a thousand knots. After a bit more than an hour and a half on the phone, I am just as confused as ever. Perhaps I shouldn’t feel that bad―the elder lawyer had no answers either, just one possible recommendation: that my mother be moved to a … Continue reading →

Thanks, Keith Haring Last Thursday I was supposed to have a phone conference with a Florida elder lawyer in hopes of gaining some insight into my seemingly endless issues. Wouldn’t you know it: she was out sick with laryngitis. The appointment was pushed to next Thursday. I have spent over seven months focusing on my mother and her health, day and night, giving up sleep, food, my peace of mind. I walked around with my stomach in knots, I suffered from strange ocular migraines. In short, I was on the road to doing myself in. A few phone calls ago, … Continue reading →

I am so sick of writing checks to this place, I cringe when I take out the check book, what a waste of my mother’s precious funds that are draining like water from a holey bucket. I Wish I knew a lawyer with a big mouth and a mighty pen. There are so few truthful staff members. I just keep encountering one doublespeaker after another. Yesterday there was a rat that came out in the evening. It ate through a box of oatmeal and a PLASTIC container of cookies. A trap was set but it was too big and escaped. … Continue reading →

Dealing with my mother’s assisted living Another day, another problem with my mother’s assisted living facility. I feel that everyone who works in that place has several jobs: the one assigned and the one to cover their butts. I contacted an ombudsman who visited my mother and her aide last week so that my mother’s grievances could be aired. That included: rats (I have caught the maintenance guy in lies in regard to the issue of vermin) a broken garbage disposal (promised to be fixed weeks ago) a cracked sink bowl (I doubt they will ever replace this as it … Continue reading →

An update on my life in the eye of a tornado … This series of blogs began when I reported that my mother had an accident and went to the hospital, was released to rehab, sent to the ICU back at the hospital, sent to another rehab (we thought was better from the ratings) and was neglected and diminishing daily. She was sent home at my request; rehab wasn’t rehabbing, she was just too weak. She was released to Vitas Hospice care. I thought it was the end. She seems to be rebounding. She currently has someone living-in with her. … Continue reading →