Friday ~

As we were finished loading the car and just kind of standing around, Chele called me (still in Branson) and said that Aunt D was probably not going to make it to hospice.  The doc said she doesn't look good and has called the family in and she is in a room that the family can have as long as they need it. We were waiting on fil but mil told us to go ahead nd head back home.  We left Branson and headed straight to the hospital. It took us right at 4 hours, with bathroom and drive thru lunch stops.  We all went to the hosptial, and there was quite a bit of family there, the kiddos sid hi to everyone, and Rog made sure I was ok, then he and the kiddos came home.  I stayed there with Chele (apparently, she was not to happy about me being so far away at a family crisis time - mom said she whined for her big sis for the past few days).  My Aunt D's immediate family consists of Uncle K -who is 87; and their son K who is about 45.  He is married and has 1 child, but they live in GA and that is where his wife and son were at this point in time.  The social worker went ahead with calling hospice in, and mom and I went with Uncle K and K to talk with her.

Forgive me for this bit of rant - but when you get to the point my Aunt is at, you are basically screwed (my apologies if that is to harsh for some of you - there is just no better way to put it).  She is on Medicare - it is paying for the hospital stay, it is also payng for the nursing home that she has been in and out of between hospital visits.  To go into the actual hospice center, you have to meet certian qualifications symptom wise - well, at this time, she is meeting them, but if they get under control in  a week, the she is discharged from the actual center, but will remain on hopsice care at the nursing home or at her home setting (not an option - 87 yo Uncle K cannot give her the care she needs at home).  So, if she remains on hopsice care (because basically, she is dying) and goes to the nursing home, Medicare no longer helps.  The nursing home room and board will be private pay.  Well, we have been thru this recently with my gramma and to stay at a nursing home is a pretty penny.  The hopsice lady explain that Medicare works to make you better and hospice lets you die peacefully and therefore they are in a sense working against each other, so therefore, they do not cooperate.

Ok, rant over...

I came home with Chele and spent the rest of the evening at home, finally.