Wow, what a long strange trip it was. I'll be dealing with the aftermath for quite some time, I'm afraid. I had to drive by myself (not an easy feat at 72 with a small bladder) 1300 miles each way. I had to "rescue" my Mom from quite disgusting living conditions. We quickly moved into a cottage 1/4 mile from her brother. It was a test to see if she could handle Independent or Assisted Living. It didn't work out, so three weeks later my cousin (who is a CNA there) and I got her into Long Term Care, or nursing home. Its not just any LTC facility. My grandmother, and aunt, both lived there in their final years. The food is superb. Mom is adjusting well. She knows people there.
I now know what my hospice caregivers went through, as I was IT, 24/7, except to run errands while my uncle or cousin stayed with Mom.
Applying for Medicaid is a daunting task, to say the least, but we had help from a wonderful woman in the Council for the Aging. Putting an attorney's retainer fee on a credit card and applying for legal Guardianship/Conservatorship was scary, to say the least. Mom's MD had deemed her unable to make her own decisions, and at 95, even with her mind intact, i get it. She had been living in squalor with my sibling, who is demented and really quite does not care for anyone. He even has a wild dog that was knocking Mom off her feet. He refused our help, and is being evicted tomorrow, I understand, from Mom's former landlord, as he won't move out, or pay rent. He even locked us out when we tried to retrieve the last of Mom's things, won't even answer the door for the police. He does own a firearm, and screamed and yelled at us quite a bit. To say the least, he scared the beegeezus outta me.
I have to "go to court" tomorrow via Zoom, so a judge can order a health evaluation by a doctor for my sibling, so he could possibly be placed in a locked care facility, to avoid homelessness.
While this has calmed down a bit, it will never be over for me, as I wonder if i did everything I could (or did I wait on her too much?)
Oh yeah, i got to do gospel music for a "pre-Easter" Service there, and two free one hour solo shows for the nursing home residents. They didn't want me to leave....
Living without internet or cellphone for a month isn't something I'm used to. But I managed it. i did get in some ukulele/singing/violin practice when there was time.
I remembered why I don't live there anymore....the weather sucks!
Thanks for reading my rant, as I won't post this on any other social media.