Just How Bad Was Your Day?

If you haven't spent any time today in the ER or the ICU with your parent or loved one, you've had a reasonably good day.  Forget that cranky boss, difficult child, IRS Audit, miserable spouse or speeding ticket....  The ER and the ICU are great benchmarks for perspective..

A day free of ventilators, Sacrament of the Sick, and scouring the landscape for a bed in a decent skilled nursing facility when you parent or loved one gets kicked out of the hospital after a fracture or pneumonia is truly a delight...  Enjoy and don't bitch about the small stuff.  My dad used to say, "Don't sweat the small stuff."   He was so right...

Try to figure these things out before you need them..  Find the best SNIFF,  slang for Skilled Nursing Facility..  Do you wonder why this slang exists?  Just visit a few and use your nose.  Think horse stable...  This is where they park your parent after the hospital and Medicare kicks them out after a fracture or pneumonia, too soon usually.  Try to find one with a private room..

Be thinking about the next step... Will they need an ASS-isted Living Facility?    Find the friendliest ratio of caregiver to patient...  One caregiver to five patients is optimal...  Good luck with this....  Most are 1:12...  Pathetic... Most facilities won't want to talk about this or tell you anything...  My advice is to bring your checkbook, or your parents' and start looking for a "boutique assisted living" facility..  It will cost you but it's worth its weight in gold.  

The next step is long term care.  Try to find an ASS-isted Living facility that will transition your parent to the next step..  Otherwise, this means another move and more tumult, misery and adjustment for your parent...  Moving them at this stage is pure Hell.  Do all you can to prevent this and find a place that will keep them for the duration.  Get Hospice.  Don't freak out about this.  It's a wonderful benefit.

If you're not at this point yet, enjoy all you have and go to the beach with the person you love... Key West is really nice this time of year!  We're going with some dear friends next month,  God willing, and only if my mom stays out of the hospital and out of the ICU...

Another important tip, when you plan a trip when your parent is in a precarious health situation, always buy the travel insurance in case you have to cancel and/or return home early..  We've had to take advantage of this on a few occasions.  It has saved us some serious money...  It's worth the investment.

Enjoy your ICU/ER Free Day..  As long as no one you love is on a ventilator, it's a really good day.... Don't you love those free beach pictures available on the Internet?  Wish I was there...  We're so ready to get out of this freezer and go to Key West

Hasta La Vista! and Feliz Navidad!