RSLancastr - Progress and news - Page 5

RSL's better half · 25th October 2009, 10:38 PM

I haven't posted in a while so I thought I should say something.

Every time I think I can't see the end of the tunnel, it suddenly blinds me. I've been so afraid of our financial situation since the state disability ran out and we started living on my salary alone back in February. I did everything I could to keep our expenses down - moved to a less expensive place, cut back on everything I could, pinched pennies everywhere I could - but when someone is very ill there are a lot of unexpected expenses. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had it not been for the generosity of the JREF, it's members, particularly the Forum members, and the international community of skeptics and critical thinkers. You all kept my head above water, and I am so grateful!

It took 8 months for Social Security Disability to kick in. Thankfully, the monthly payment is enough to enable me to retire early from my job with the school district. Because I'm still so young (55) my pension estimate is about 1/3 of my salary. However, yesterday I learned something that will help increase that payment somewhat. I served in the US Navy for a little over 2 years when I was young. Yesterday, at a retirement seminar I was obligated to attend before retirement, I learned that my 2 years in the military can be added to my "service credit" years, which are used to calculate the amount of pension.

I'm hoping my district will also offer a retirement "incentive" to Confidential employees (not represented by a union) like they did this past year (when only one of several eligible employees took it - I was not yet old enough), and that I can get an amount that will help pay the extremely high premiums on my medical plan. Another thing that will have to be worked out is that because we're moving out of state we can't stay on my HMO plan. We need to be on the more expensive point-of-service (POS) plan my employer offers. Usually, employees are not allowed to change plans until open enrollment, and the new plan takes effect on October 1st. So I just missed the window. I still don't know what this will mean, but my employer knows the hardship I am under - we cannot be without coverage, and Robert is right in the middle of treatment.

Not only will the premiums be higher, but we will be paying a percentage of the medical costs instead of a fixed co-payment. If the District helps me out, though, we can handle the additional costs. We only need to pay the higher premiums until Feb, 2011, when Robert will be accepted into Medicare, and the retirement incentive offered back in June, if offered again, would be just enough to cover the difference between the HMO premium and the POS premium. (Not sure why they make you wait, but they make you wait 24 months - Social Security is counting his disability benefits with them back to Feb 09, when state disability stopped.) When he is accepted into Medicare, I can drop him from my plan and continue my plan on just me at half the premium. It'll be like getting a hefty raise!

The good news about having to go on the more expensive POS plan is that we will no longer have to deal with HMOs. HMOs are a sort of middle-man between the doctor and the insurance company. We had one HMO that overrode what Robert's doctors ordered. We don't have that problem with our newer HMO. They seem to be getting whatever the doctor orders done, and done quickly - such a difference from the old HMO! But we've only been on the new HMO a few months. I keep waiting for something to go wrong and I have to fight again! With the POS plan, I can self-refer to specialists and, if they are in the insurance company's network of providers (and I've discovered an extensive network up there in Oregon) my costs will be considerably lower than without insurance. One odd thing I noticed about the network of doctors up there is that there are very few Indian/Middle Eastern and Asian names! In California, most of our doctors are Indian/Middle Eastern and Asian! Most of Robert's doctors have been Indian immigrants: Dr. Sudan; Dr. Vermani; Dr. Kundi; and, I think Dr. Kular as well. Dr. Bai was his primary in the nursing facility, and he is Asian. Most of the names I saw in the network in Oregon were European - some German, some French, a lot of British/Irish/Scottish names. This will just seem a bit odd to me.

So, Robert is stepping up his therapy a bit and asking for help with specific things. It's good to see him stepping up and taking charge of his therapy. He gets stronger all the time. Tomorrow we see the neurologist, who will tell us what the MRI showed and whether Robert can receive more PT. Once he starts the PT, his OT will discontinue. I am so grateful we got Kenneth when we did. He's been instrumental at strengthening Robert's body so he will be better equipped for PT. We see Kenneth Tuesday and Thursday this week, and maybe next. But I fully expect Robert to get back into PT in the next 2 weeks. I'm also hoping for a little speech therapy as well, but I'm not holding my breath. He needs a little work with decision-making, and still gets a bit confused at times. He needs some help with getting his thoughts to come together better. I feel like I'm the only person who can see it, though.

Apartment hunting in Oregon is underway. Robert's eldest is there and will scout-out what I find online. Most apartment communities now take online applications, and some even take electronic fund transfers. I've given Roz a list of several apartment communities to visit, and have asked her to carry a tape measure so we can make sure the new place will accommodate Robert's wheelchair. She is a month or so away from giving birth, however, and we can't move until January at the earliest, so nothing will begin in earnest until late December, early January. I'm enjoying the research, though! Man! What we can get for half the rent we now pay!!!

I'm off to bed now. Hopefully we both sleep a little better tonight than the last few nights. Good night, JREF Forumites. Always know that I love you and am forever in your debt. You are the best of people.

RSLancastr · 27th October 2009, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by RSL's better half

Good night, JREF Forumites. Always know that I love you and am forever in your debt. You are the best of people.

Seconded!

RSL's better half · 27th October 2009, 07:24 AM

The MRI came back great! Robert's brain has almost completely healed. Isn't that just amazing?! Only slight damage is showing . . . that's showing. For such a massive bleed, this seems to me to be close to phenominal. I wonder if allowing the blood to absorb (although they had no choice) actually helped the brain heal. I really need to do some research.

RSL's better half · 31st October 2009, 10:41 AM

So, we showed up for OT on Thursday. I had told Kenneth that PT had been ordered, and on Thursday he showed me the approval the therapy center had received from our HMO. (I am almost ready to say "I love this HMO" . . . almost.) Then Kenneth informed me that the approval couldn't have been more timely, as this was Robert's 12th session (our HMO approved 12). We had thought of Kenneth requesting more, but it is no longer necessary since we got the approval for PT. I made Robert's first two appointments for PT, which will be the same time and days he had OT. We get one week off. He starts PT on 11/10. He's been approved for 12 sessions. Due to holidays, I figure his last session will be 12/22. Then, that's it, Folks! Robert will be on his own to improve . . . or not. He will have all the tools and techniques he's been taught.

We'll have Christmas, New Year's, then MOVE!

huh boy

RSL's better half · 18th November 2009, 07:52 PM

Hullo.

Sorry I haven't written anything in so long. Robert should have started his final set of physical therapy sessions last week. However, the therapy place is in the basement of a medical building, and the ricketty old elevator is dead. Obviously, Robert cannot walk down the stairs, so we are stuck without a way to get down there. Once it's finally fixed, I'm going to insist on therapy 3 times a week. We're running out of time.

Roz has been looking at a couple places for us in Oregon. My first choice (picked from internet listings) was a duplex community, and the unit had a fireplace. But Roz took measurements and concluded it would not suit her dad's wheelchair. My second choice is an apartment complex that advertised "disability accessible" units. Roz was pretty sold on this one. Measurements measured-up, and the area is "very safe" (Roz' words). No fireplace for me, though. Knowing her dad's love of books, she noted that there was a bookstore about a block and a half away. Accepting her judgement, I have submitted our applications. They can't guarantee there will be an accessible unit available when we're ready to move, so I'm still looking online.

Roz is about ready to pop (baby), so she will not be looking and measuring for us for a few weeks. Perhaps by then the aprtment complex will have extended a welcome to us. We shall see.

I have an appointment with the Public Employees' Retirement System on Dec 16. On Dec 15 the ladies I work with (some for 20 years) will have a potluck celebration for me. Dec 18 is the office Christmas party. One busy week! It'll be a real party time!

I'll keep you posted.

RSL's better half · 25th November 2009, 07:45 PM

A very happy, very American, traditional Thanksgiving to all my American JREF family! To the rest of the "family," happy day-like-any-other-day!

Robert had his first of the final 12 sessions of physical therapy yesterday. I'll let him talk about how it went. What's important to me is he actually set down a couple of goals for him and his therapist to accomplish. Because we are getting down to the wire of moving day, I talked to his therapist about having his sessions 3 times a week instead of 2. Because of the 4-day holiday this week (of course us school district employees got 5 days), we only got one session, and next week there will be two, but the following week there will be three as well as the following week. If we don't finish before Christmas, we'll finish right after.

My employer has started the process of transferring my medical benefits from HMO to the Point-of-Service plan, which will be effective January 1st. I thought I'd be paying a percentage of our doctor visits and prescriptions. As it turns out, as long as we use doctors in the insurance company's "network" we will pay $10 per office visit and only $5 - $15 per prescription. There is A BUNCH of doctors in Aetna's network in Oregon. We should have no problem staying in-network. It's an expensive plan in terms of monthly premium, but we only have to pay it for 13 months. When Robert goes on Medicare, it'll be like getting a huge salary increase because my premium will go down from 2-party to single. We can do this.

But we could not have been able to do this had we decided to stay in California. If we had decided to stay, I would still be working. In Oregon our rent will be cut in half. There'll be many other cost savings as well.

I am so looking forward to this new phase of our life. We'll work together on his recovery, I'll start studying medical transcribing. In a year, we'll be in more of a position to do a little traveling - locally, anyway - financially and physically. Perhaps, in a few years, we'll be able to afford visits to our international JREF family! A trip to Europe - London, Paris, Geneva. I'd love to show Ireland to Robert (I've been there twice), and I think we'd both love to see Scotland. Do we know anyone in Italy? Well, regardless, I want to see Venice and Tuscany before I die. When we visit Australia we'll need a good month, I think, to make the rounds of visits to our widely extended family there!

I dream, I know. But we just may be able to work it out if I can get a clientel built up with my transcribing.

RSL's better half · 4th December 2009, 06:06 AM

Wow. Has it really been 16 months since Robert's stroke? I think it's time now to "unsticky" my two threads. No one seems to have anything more, really, to contribute to them, including me. Robert is able to post his own threads now, and I can always start a new one (in the Community Forum) about how we're doing after the move to Oregon, if folks are still interested.

My final, parting post here is, I love this community and the JREF organization. By now you know this - you've heard it a hundred times (and I'm sure rj will go back and count how many times I've said it and correct me

). I will never forget and always appreciate the overwhelming support I received from all of you.

27th October 2009, 06:42 AM	#162
RSLancastr www.StopSylvia.com Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 15,543	Originally Posted by RSL's better half Good night, JREF Forumites. Always know that I love you and am forever in your debt. You are the best of people. Seconded!
	__________________ Who is "Kaz?" Read about her at www.StopKaz.com. Curious about Sylvia Browne? Read about her at www.StopSylvia.com. Ever wonder "What's the Harm?" with psychics, alternative medicine, etc?

25th October 2009, 10:38 PM	#161
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	I haven't posted in a while so I thought I should say something. Every time I think I can't see the end of the tunnel, it suddenly blinds me. I've been so afraid of our financial situation since the state disability ran out and we started living on my salary alone back in February. I did everything I could to keep our expenses down - moved to a less expensive place, cut back on everything I could, pinched pennies everywhere I could - but when someone is very ill there are a lot of unexpected expenses. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done had it not been for the generosity of the JREF, it's members, particularly the Forum members, and the international community of skeptics and critical thinkers. You all kept my head above water, and I am so grateful! It took 8 months for Social Security Disability to kick in. Thankfully, the monthly payment is enough to enable me to retire early from my job with the school district. Because I'm still so young (55) my pension estimate is about 1/3 of my salary. However, yesterday I learned something that will help increase that payment somewhat. I served in the US Navy for a little over 2 years when I was young. Yesterday, at a retirement seminar I was obligated to attend before retirement, I learned that my 2 years in the military can be added to my "service credit" years, which are used to calculate the amount of pension. I'm hoping my district will also offer a retirement "incentive" to Confidential employees (not represented by a union) like they did this past year (when only one of several eligible employees took it - I was not yet old enough), and that I can get an amount that will help pay the extremely high premiums on my medical plan. Another thing that will have to be worked out is that because we're moving out of state we can't stay on my HMO plan. We need to be on the more expensive point-of-service (POS) plan my employer offers. Usually, employees are not allowed to change plans until open enrollment, and the new plan takes effect on October 1st. So I just missed the window. I still don't know what this will mean, but my employer knows the hardship I am under - we cannot be without coverage, and Robert is right in the middle of treatment. Not only will the premiums be higher, but we will be paying a percentage of the medical costs instead of a fixed co-payment. If the District helps me out, though, we can handle the additional costs. We only need to pay the higher premiums until Feb, 2011, when Robert will be accepted into Medicare, and the retirement incentive offered back in June, if offered again, would be just enough to cover the difference between the HMO premium and the POS premium. (Not sure why they make you wait, but they make you wait 24 months - Social Security is counting his disability benefits with them back to Feb 09, when state disability stopped.) When he is accepted into Medicare, I can drop him from my plan and continue my plan on just me at half the premium. It'll be like getting a hefty raise! The good news about having to go on the more expensive POS plan is that we will no longer have to deal with HMOs. HMOs are a sort of middle-man between the doctor and the insurance company. We had one HMO that overrode what Robert's doctors ordered. We don't have that problem with our newer HMO. They seem to be getting whatever the doctor orders done, and done quickly - such a difference from the old HMO! But we've only been on the new HMO a few months. I keep waiting for something to go wrong and I have to fight again! With the POS plan, I can self-refer to specialists and, if they are in the insurance company's network of providers (and I've discovered an extensive network up there in Oregon) my costs will be considerably lower than without insurance. One odd thing I noticed about the network of doctors up there is that there are very few Indian/Middle Eastern and Asian names! In California, most of our doctors are Indian/Middle Eastern and Asian! Most of Robert's doctors have been Indian immigrants: Dr. Sudan; Dr. Vermani; Dr. Kundi; and, I think Dr. Kular as well. Dr. Bai was his primary in the nursing facility, and he is Asian. Most of the names I saw in the network in Oregon were European - some German, some French, a lot of British/Irish/Scottish names. This will just seem a bit odd to me. So, Robert is stepping up his therapy a bit and asking for help with specific things. It's good to see him stepping up and taking charge of his therapy. He gets stronger all the time. Tomorrow we see the neurologist, who will tell us what the MRI showed and whether Robert can receive more PT. Once he starts the PT, his OT will discontinue. I am so grateful we got Kenneth when we did. He's been instrumental at strengthening Robert's body so he will be better equipped for PT. We see Kenneth Tuesday and Thursday this week, and maybe next. But I fully expect Robert to get back into PT in the next 2 weeks. I'm also hoping for a little speech therapy as well, but I'm not holding my breath. He needs a little work with decision-making, and still gets a bit confused at times. He needs some help with getting his thoughts to come together better. I feel like I'm the only person who can see it, though. Apartment hunting in Oregon is underway. Robert's eldest is there and will scout-out what I find online. Most apartment communities now take online applications, and some even take electronic fund transfers. I've given Roz a list of several apartment communities to visit, and have asked her to carry a tape measure so we can make sure the new place will accommodate Robert's wheelchair. She is a month or so away from giving birth, however, and we can't move until January at the earliest, so nothing will begin in earnest until late December, early January. I'm enjoying the research, though! Man! What we can get for half the rent we now pay!!! I'm off to bed now. Hopefully we both sleep a little better tonight than the last few nights. Good night, JREF Forumites. Always know that I love you and am forever in your debt. You are the best of people.

27th October 2009, 07:24 AM	#163
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	The MRI came back great! Robert's brain has almost completely healed. Isn't that just amazing?! Only slight damage is showing . . . that's showing. For such a massive bleed, this seems to me to be close to phenominal. I wonder if allowing the blood to absorb (although they had no choice) actually helped the brain heal. I really need to do some research.

31st October 2009, 10:41 AM	#164
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	So, we showed up for OT on Thursday. I had told Kenneth that PT had been ordered, and on Thursday he showed me the approval the therapy center had received from our HMO. (I am almost ready to say "I love this HMO" . . . almost.) Then Kenneth informed me that the approval couldn't have been more timely, as this was Robert's 12th session (our HMO approved 12). We had thought of Kenneth requesting more, but it is no longer necessary since we got the approval for PT. I made Robert's first two appointments for PT, which will be the same time and days he had OT. We get one week off. He starts PT on 11/10. He's been approved for 12 sessions. Due to holidays, I figure his last session will be 12/22. Then, that's it, Folks! Robert will be on his own to improve . . . or not. He will have all the tools and techniques he's been taught. We'll have Christmas, New Year's, then MOVE! huh boy

18th November 2009, 07:52 PM	#165
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	Hullo. Sorry I haven't written anything in so long. Robert should have started his final set of physical therapy sessions last week. However, the therapy place is in the basement of a medical building, and the ricketty old elevator is dead. Obviously, Robert cannot walk down the stairs, so we are stuck without a way to get down there. Once it's finally fixed, I'm going to insist on therapy 3 times a week. We're running out of time. Roz has been looking at a couple places for us in Oregon. My first choice (picked from internet listings) was a duplex community, and the unit had a fireplace. But Roz took measurements and concluded it would not suit her dad's wheelchair. My second choice is an apartment complex that advertised "disability accessible" units. Roz was pretty sold on this one. Measurements measured-up, and the area is "very safe" (Roz' words). No fireplace for me, though. Knowing her dad's love of books, she noted that there was a bookstore about a block and a half away. Accepting her judgement, I have submitted our applications. They can't guarantee there will be an accessible unit available when we're ready to move, so I'm still looking online. Roz is about ready to pop (baby), so she will not be looking and measuring for us for a few weeks. Perhaps by then the aprtment complex will have extended a welcome to us. We shall see. I have an appointment with the Public Employees' Retirement System on Dec 16. On Dec 15 the ladies I work with (some for 20 years) will have a potluck celebration for me. Dec 18 is the office Christmas party. One busy week! It'll be a real party time! I'll keep you posted.

25th November 2009, 07:45 PM	#166
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	A very happy, very American, traditional Thanksgiving to all my American JREF family! To the rest of the "family," happy day-like-any-other-day! Robert had his first of the final 12 sessions of physical therapy yesterday. I'll let him talk about how it went. What's important to me is he actually set down a couple of goals for him and his therapist to accomplish. Because we are getting down to the wire of moving day, I talked to his therapist about having his sessions 3 times a week instead of 2. Because of the 4-day holiday this week (of course us school district employees got 5 days), we only got one session, and next week there will be two, but the following week there will be three as well as the following week. If we don't finish before Christmas, we'll finish right after. My employer has started the process of transferring my medical benefits from HMO to the Point-of-Service plan, which will be effective January 1st. I thought I'd be paying a percentage of our doctor visits and prescriptions. As it turns out, as long as we use doctors in the insurance company's "network" we will pay $10 per office visit and only $5 - $15 per prescription. There is A BUNCH of doctors in Aetna's network in Oregon. We should have no problem staying in-network. It's an expensive plan in terms of monthly premium, but we only have to pay it for 13 months. When Robert goes on Medicare, it'll be like getting a huge salary increase because my premium will go down from 2-party to single. We can do this. But we could not have been able to do this had we decided to stay in California. If we had decided to stay, I would still be working. In Oregon our rent will be cut in half. There'll be many other cost savings as well. I am so looking forward to this new phase of our life. We'll work together on his recovery, I'll start studying medical transcribing. In a year, we'll be in more of a position to do a little traveling - locally, anyway - financially and physically. Perhaps, in a few years, we'll be able to afford visits to our international JREF family! A trip to Europe - London, Paris, Geneva. I'd love to show Ireland to Robert (I've been there twice), and I think we'd both love to see Scotland. Do we know anyone in Italy? Well, regardless, I want to see Venice and Tuscany before I die. When we visit Australia we'll need a good month, I think, to make the rounds of visits to our widely extended family there! I dream, I know. But we just may be able to work it out if I can get a clientel built up with my transcribing.

4th December 2009, 06:06 AM	#167
RSL's better half RSL Groupie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Oregon! Posts: 1,154	Wow. Has it really been 16 months since Robert's stroke? I think it's time now to "unsticky" my two threads. No one seems to have anything more, really, to contribute to them, including me. Robert is able to post his own threads now, and I can always start a new one (in the Community Forum) about how we're doing after the move to Oregon, if folks are still interested. My final, parting post here is, I love this community and the JREF organization. By now you know this - you've heard it a hundred times (and I'm sure rj will go back and count how many times I've said it and correct me ). I will never forget and always appreciate the overwhelming support I received from all of you.