He is a widower with 2 children 23 and 28. The 23yr old son is a College student who was going to take test and apply to Medical School. 28 yr old daughter has anxiety and a 3yr old. Today at the hospital the Social Worker presented my Nephew with the 24 hour Care Plan to be filled out and implemented upon BILs discharge. The Transplant will take place 2hrs from our homes. Following surgery BIL has to remain within 60 miles of hospital along with 3 full time Caregivers. Son will be first Caregiver. That is where the list ends. I so want to help these kids out. But being stuck in an apartment for at least 30 days helping care for someone having had this surgery, I can't seem to wrap my head around it. Should I decide to do this there are in hospital education courses. But I would like to hear some personal experiences before I commit myself.
Here's my concern for you. Is the son going to be the fulltime caregiver for 30 days, and then you will be the fulltime caregiver for 30 days? You write "at least." So is this intensive caregiving going to be needed beyond your 30 day stint? What if no one else steps up? I can see you being trapped...and this isn't even your blood relative. Are there no blood relatives available to help out?
You want to talk to the social work department about what insurance will cover (either at home or in a rehab facility) and if insurance will not, if there are scholarships or other financial resources available to fund this endeavor.
Good luck! And let us know what happens; we learn from each other.
Barb, you raise an excellent question! Why could he not transition thru a facility? I will certainly bring that up. I did ask niece why can't the required caregivers be professional hired caregivers? She said she thought the additional as needed caregivers to fill in could be. The forms they were looking at were pretty straightforward. 3 or 4 pages of requirements or a checklist that had to be completed before BIL would be put on Transplant List. They both panicked. Of course they want him on Transplant List yesterday. Niece and I will be going to Houston for a visit Thursday or Friday. I will bring up questions with someone...social worker, coordinator, etc.
Thanks Again
Good luck in your decision- you have a chance to really make a difference in his life as well as his family's.
Nephew should sit down with the social worker and ask which are the best facilities closest to the hospital and how do they arrange for dad to be admitted to them. Will they hold a bed now? Nephew should take this opportunity to visit several so that he can help his father make an informed choice.