Friday, October 19, 2012

Independence


It's a milestone day for me!

Today I leave for therapy at 8:30 A.M. and don't return home until 9:30 P.M

I'm going straight from therapy to my local VFW for the monthly pool tournament. Beer and fun with the guys!

For once, Steve doesn't have to help with my transportation because I'm using the paratransit system.

And Mrs. AOW gets a full day off!

Life is for living.


Celebration today, napping all weekend.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Great news, enjoy your day , hope the weather is great as well.
Be carefull of 'Wild Women and Islamists' lol

Brooke said...

I hope you have a great time!

Woodsterman (Odie) said...

HAVE FUN DUDE!

Always On Watch said...

Mr. AOW is off for the whole day! I asked him if he was nervous. He responded, "No." I asked him if he was excited, and he responded, "A little." Then he said, "I'll be all right." So, I judge that he is just a tad nervous and a lot excited. Mr. AOW has always been a master of understatement.

I ran a few errands this morning and afterwards hit the sack for a long nap. I've been exhausted ever since sitting up last on Tuesday night so as to watch the Presidential debate.

A WHOLE DAY OFF!

When I think back to 3 years ago, I can hardly believe that today has come! At this point 3 years ago, Mr. AOW couldn't do much of anything and was in a nursing home. Three years ago today, I thought that I might never get to bring him back home.

He has a long way to go, but he has come a long way, too. And bit-by-bit progress is still evident.

Ducky's here said...

An interesting article, AOW

You may be interested in this look at some of Mitt's friends and his kids and their relation to the The Scooter Store.

It's not clear just what shenanigans were involved but it does mention over billing. The article could be clearer but it gives an idea how much Mitt and his job creating (LMAO) friends are involved with.

Hope Mr. AOW enjoys guy's night out and avoids bad companions.

Z said...

Mr AOW, I hope you had a spectacular day! YOU are my hero!

xx

Always On Watch said...

Duck,
From what I have personally seen -- never mind what I have read -- there is much fraud involved with billing Medicare and Medicaid. On the other hand, there is also much gate keeping, too.

Based on the coming tsunami of the aging population, it seems to me that investing in mobility aids -- manufacture, retail, and wholesale -- is a wise investment. Just as many new jobs in health care should materialize over the next few decades, so should careers in health care at all levels.

Conflict of interest with Romney as politician and President? Probably.

I despise those Hoveround commercials! The ads present the picture that all those with mobility issues can benefit greatly from such devices. Not so! In desperation, hordes of people are forking over money -- Medicare is too -- with the idea that these devices will allow the aging to remain at home. That is not necessarily so although some folks are able to remain in their home and quite independent because of these mobility devices!

In fact, those in Mr. AOW's condition have the following issues with any kind of wheelchair or scooter:

1. Left neglect -- At times, Mr. AOW returns home with his left knee bruised and/or bleeding.

2. Getting a paralyzed leg onto the device's footrest -- no matter how low that footrest is.

3. Bathrooming -- Many are incontinent only because of the time factor involved, and I don't mean age, either. I'm sure that I don't need to explain in more detail.

4. Getting through doorways -- bathroom doors in residences are stoppers in that these doors are typically much narrower than any other door in the house.

5. Transporting the mobility device

6. Many old-age facilities do not allow electric wheelchairs and electric scooters.

Mr. AOW got his scooter from a private party for a mere $500 in January 2011, and Medicare didn't chip in a dime: typically, Medicare or other insurance pays all but $1000 of the billed price for the mobility device.

The first few times that Mr. AOW used the scooter, he turned it over! Furthermore, getting onto and off the scooter was a Herculean task for a long time and required a personal care assistant -- in addition to the bathrooming issue when he was out and about. It wasn't until the last few months that the scooter was of great benefit; at that point, I invested in fixing my Crown Vic for transporting the scooter to places outside the service area of MetroAccess. However, the older I get, the more I realize that we will have to invest in a minivan or a trailer within a few years. I cannot continue to lift that scooter into the trunk of the car -- never mind that the heaviest piece of the disassembled scooter weighs only 28 pounds! I'm only 5'1" tall and weigh about 108 pounds, so I can't get the leverage or the hoist, particularly because of my chronic back problems.

Always On Watch said...

Mr. AOW's day out was a total success in every way!

He'll likely do this every third Friday of the month because our local VFW has a pool tournament on that date.

I think that his next big day out will be a coin show, where he'll buy investment pieces and Christmas presents.