Please Pray For My Mom

My sweet 87 year old mother was taken to the hospital emergency room today because for over a month she has had severe problems keeping food down and attendant problems. None of the tests they have done have been able to find out what is wrong. She is very weak and so thin.

I am exhausted because she is falling through the various bureaucracy cracks. Even though she was so obviously ill and unable to care for herself, and my father who will be 91 in two weeks, and is great for his age, but is getting too frail to take care of her and the house, as well as he doesn't know how to care for her in this condition, the ER doctors were going to send her home because they couldn't find out what was wrong with her and the insurance won't pay if they can't give a diagnosis. Dad offered to pay from his pocket, but they said they could not allow that. The clincher is, she can't go back into the nursing home until she has been in the hospital for three days. So they are going to send her home?!!!

Finally after the nurse and doctors conferred, (after Mom had been in the cubicle all day) and they were able to find a bed in an overflowing hospital, they decided to put her in for the night. We'll see what they decide to do for her tomorrow.

My friends, just because their tests don't give them an answer, she is obviously a seriously ill woman. This same ailment happened to her 3 years ago, and she was almost dead before they were able to discover that she had a massive infection throughout her entire gastro-intestinal system. Due to the resulting effects of malnutrition she had a blood clot and then nearly bled to death internally from the blood thinners, so she was in intensive care and then hospitalized and fed through tubes for the whole summer and then in the nursing home for several months before she could regain enough strength to return to her home. She hasn't been able to keep house since then and Dad has done the cooking and housework. Unfortunately, her long time doctor retired since then and she is now dealing with new doctors who are unfamiliar with her case and one who really shows little interest in her case.

With my health conditions, I am unable to care for her and I am getting quite concerned and more than a little bit hot under the collar about the stupidity of medical bureaucracy (this includes insurance companies and Medicare regulations.) Even Jesus said that people were not made to serve the law, the law was made to serve the people.

They pay a large percentage of their monthly income for Medicare fees and supplemental insurance and this is what they get for it, after a lifetime of living decent, hardworking lives!

Thank you for giving me a place to rant. Please pray for strength and healing for Mom and Dad; for wisdom for the medical staff caring for her; and for love, patience, and serenity (not to mention a closed mouth) for me.