Spinal cord injury, wheel chair bound, no dementia
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Anonymous
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80 year old dad. Has a medical issue that basically acts as a slowly developing spinal cord injury (aterio-venous malformation in spine). I had not seen him in person for 2 years due to covid and two babies being born. He is now wheel chair bound. Seems to toilet himself every hour (urinary incontinence issues). He can scoot himself around with the tiny bit of foot control he has left in his wheel chair. He can move himself from bed to chair to wheel chair to toilet (for now) but has had falls. Very low income (SS). I think he might qualify for medicaid in addition to medicare. He is also a Vietnam vet. He does not have dementia but he has stubborn old man syndrome and won't do the phonetree stuff for himself, so I will do it for him. He is strong for his age and has good cardiovascular health so he could be around another 10 years in spite of his medical issues. He is reluctant to shower himself because he once feel slowly/controlled down the wall despite grip bars. Unfortunately I do not live nearby and even if I did he weighs 200lbs. He seems to have venous insufficiency issues in his lower extremities, slowly healing sores, etc. My younger brother lives nearby and has agreed to drive him to medical appointments.
My questions: If you have seen a similar medical issue, what supports helped? I think he could use an external catheter, better support bars for getting around, medical grade memory foam cushion for his rear end to prevent pressure sores, wound care nurse, home health aid so he can shower. He is heavier than he needs to be. Any tips on bringing up a diet. As an example, he seems to eat 1/4 cup of ketchup in a beans and rice dish he makes for himself. I am going to try to apply for SNAP, medicaid, anything available through the VA. What else? Thank you for your help in advance. |
Anonymous
| Start with the VA. They have counselors that can help with resources. Also they can put him on a list for VA assisted living center and work to figure out cost. The VA centers have more mentally competent but physically not guys than nonVA places. |
Anonymous
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Sorry, OP. Sounds like a lot to deal with.
If you think he may be eligible for Medicaid as well as Medicare, one way to get a better read on that is to contact your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program - https://www.shiphelp.org/ They have counselors who can help you figure it out and point you toward next steps, and the service is free. |
Anonymous
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For urinary incontinence, OP, there are great! But do require a caregiver to help change them, as would an external catheter, I suppose right?
https://quickchange.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAwJWdBhCYARIsAJc4idC2jr2RlOcuWQgMSGwC0Eumaj_9JtQL4CtLdjmIHai9anLbgYnWZQkaAjXHEALw_wcB |
Anonymous
| How is he managing now around the house? Is he shopping and cooking for himself? Who handles home repairs? Or is it an apartment? |
Anonymous
| Does he have diabetes? |
Anonymous
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Did he serve during wartime? The VA offers support called 'Aid and Attendance'. I looked into for my dad. I think one stipulation was that they served during wartime, not necessarily fought in a war. My dad served during Vietnam. He did not qualify because of income limits, but it might be something you could look into.
https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/ Patriot Angels helped answer some of my questions. https://www.patriotangels.com/aid-attendance |
Anonymous
Be weary of catheters. UTIs were part of my Dads final decline. |