I am glad SPP has such a great network of friends supporting him, you are all amazing.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, January 26, 2022 - 06:25 pm: Edit

The hospital just called and have decided to send him to a skilled nursing unit for 20 days with two hours of physical therapy per day and one hour of occupational therapy per day. After that, he either goes home or to some kind of assisted living center.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 12:02 am: Edit

I want to give special thanks to Leanna and Al for the many hours they have spent helping Steve. (I spent more, but it's my job; it's not their jobs.) Al helped clean out his apartment so the repair and cleaning people could get in, and helped me go to visit Steve on a day when my knee was so swollen I should not have been walking. Leanna has spent about 20 hours going through stacks and boxes of old mail trying to track down all of Steve's accounts, bills, subscriptions, and rentals. Both of them, as well as Mike Sparks and Jean, have done too many things for me to list them all. Because Steve's family is in Florida, they made me "medical power of attorney" so that I could listen to the doctors and make the decisions. I have signed off on a dozen forms and procedures.

I say this not to seek praise or glory but to ask all of you to make things easy for your friends and relatives. Keep your lives in order. Keep your unpaid bills in one place and your paid bills you are keeping for records in a different place (both clearly marked). Once a year or more, sit down with a couple of friends/relatives and go over a list of things going on in your life: storage buildings you are paying for, pets who need to be fed or rescued if something happens to you, whatever it is. We live in a busy world, nobody keeps their affairs entirely in order, but give your caregiver/executor a fighting chance to find stuff. Most of all, if you don't need to keep it, throw it away so the guy who has to figure out what bills to pay doesn't spend entire days running down bank accounts you closed years ago. And if you can put a bill on auto-pay, do it so you don't have your lights turned off or insurance cancelled if your relatives don't find your unpaid bills file in time. (We found all of Steve's stuff in time, but it could have been better organized. Because he has been sick for months, months of stuff wasn't properly filed, even if most of it was actually done.)

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 03:32 pm: Edit

Steve Petrick is now at Arbors rehab and expected to go home and back to work in 3 weeks.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 04:35 pm: Edit

Looks like a nice place. Sort of like a Courtyard Marriott type place with hospital style beds and facilities? When my dad had his accident and hip surgery years ago his rehab facility was not as nice as that one. Best wishes for a productive stay and speedy recovery.

--Mike

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 04:52 pm: Edit

>> I want to give special thanks

Hats off to all of you guys for the amazing job you are doing handling what appears to be a rough patch of multiple adversities. You manage is really well together, like extended family. It is both admirable and tremendously inspirational!

--Mike

By Mark Hutton (Trynda1701) on Saturday, January 29, 2022 - 06:30 pm: Edit

Agree with Mike on all fronts that you guys and gals are an amazing support network for each other.

Great to hear Steve is at the rehab facility and due to go home. Make sure he takes the time to ease back into the work routine.

By Jay Gustason (Jay20) on Saturday, January 29, 2022 - 07:13 pm: Edit

That is so great to hear

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, January 31, 2022 - 09:34 pm: Edit

I saw Steve Petrick today. (Al spent two hours with him yesterday.) He is in improving spirits. (They finally quit serving him food he was allergic to. He figured out the TV. Leanna got his kindlefire to him so he can read books easier.)

Physically, however, is a difficult story. His left leg is weak and shakes. Walking is difficult and not allowed without a watchdog. It is unclear if he will be able to live on his own when they throw him out in two weeks.

By Dennis Surdu (Aegis) on Monday, January 31, 2022 - 11:19 pm: Edit

Hopefully someone is helping with getting him Social Security disability and/or VA in home assistance and care, if needed. If there is the slightest possibility that what he did in the Army contributed to his condition, that should be looked into as well. Unfortunately, he will have to do much of that talking to both organizations himself, unless someone has POA or third party authorization. The good news is that there likely is some sort of significant aid he can qualify for.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 01, 2022 - 12:25 am: Edit

Yes, we are already digging into that. Social Security Disability is one of those government services that it takes 3 or 4 months to get and they do not pay retroactively. His condition is not service related but the VA may pay part of some things. He has retirement accounts, his monthly paycheck, and starts getting Social Security checks this summer sometime. He should be fine. Maybe I can get him put into a nursing home with prewired dating software for the pretty widows.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Tuesday, February 01, 2022 - 12:54 am: Edit

He may be too old for SSDI, and this may be a straight SS retirement situation. I'd also look into Medicaid as well. His condition may be considered as requiring "nursing home level of care", which can be both terrifying and also may open up some other options like the PACE program. Programs vary by State and I don't know anything about how Texas works.

I'd also recommend finding and engaging an experienced elder law attorney immediately. This space can be quite complicated and one can miss really valuable opportunities without some guidance. When my parents went through their medical events, I didn't know anything and I scrambled badly to try and learn quickly and catch up. Our elder attorney was super valuable and saved our bacon with critical information we didn't know or know to ask about.

Of course, my sincerest hope is that he is able to recover and then re-engage with his prior life. Fingers crossed!

--Mike

By Gregg Dieckhaus (Gdieck) on Tuesday, February 01, 2022 - 02:36 pm: Edit

Steve C.
Thank you for keeping everyone up to date
Give SPP my best.

Gregg

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 06:18 pm: Edit

An update.
Steve P's brother Michael has been here for several days, spending time with Steve P and giving me some time off from visitation duty. Al and I did enjoy spending a lot of time with Michael going through Steve P's apartment, storage lockers, and finances.
Steve P's blood pressure is under control but his diabetes is not yet under control. His vision has gone to @#$% and we won't know for some time yet if he can ever drive a car again. His insurance company declared his car a total loss so IF he can ever drive he will have to buy a new one.
His big problem is his inability to walk without a walker and a physical therapist. This is caused by nerve damage, mostly from diabetes.
He has a special evaluation Tuesday and another one a week from Tuesday. If he doesn't improve for the second evaluation, he will be declared permanently disabled and forced to live in some kind of assisted living center which will cost (a lot). If he shows enough improvement to leave he can go to an apartment somewhere but likely not the one he has occupied for 30+ years. If he shows an improvement that could get him to an independent status in a week or three he can stay there for $1400 a week until he is strong enough to leave or is declared permanently disabled.
Social Security Disability isn't going to be much of an option. Assuming we did all the @#$% to qualify him he would get it for two or three months before regular retirement kicks in. Medicaid isn't going to pick up the bill until he spends all of his savings.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 08:56 pm: Edit

"Medicaid isn't going to pick up the bill until he spends all of his savings."

Well, that bites. I presume he does have some savings / investments, but if you're forced to deplete them before a government program kicks in (one that you paid into for decades), it really limits what quality of life you could make for yourself given the circumstances.


Garth L. Getgen

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 10:22 pm: Edit

Twas ever thus. Medicaid is for poor people. Steve P isn't rich but he is not poor either. Do you want to pay taxes so that Steve can leave a nest egg inheritance to his nephews? Are not we Americans in favor of personal responsiblity?

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Sunday, February 06, 2022 - 10:32 pm: Edit

If some of his vision problems is caused by bleeding inside the eye, it may at least clear up over time. You have to keep the blood sugar under control as much as you can though, to keep more bleeding from happening.

I got laser eye surgery to stop the continual bleeding (on more than one occasion) and it can help with that.

Other forms of surgery for other vision issues exist. I hope that his vision improves.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 12:00 pm: Edit

I am already arranging to get him to an eye specialist, probably next week.

By Eddie E Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 07:44 pm: Edit

Does he have anything coming from Veterans Administration for disability.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 08:04 pm: Edit

This is not service related.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 09:41 pm: Edit

SVC:

I could be wrong, but i suspect Eddie was asking if Petrick had a pre-existing disability.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, February 07, 2022 - 10:50 pm: Edit

No, he did not.

By Dennis Surdu (Aegis) on Tuesday, February 08, 2022 - 12:23 am: Edit

You do not have to have a service related problem to qualify for many VA benefits.....just need to be a vet of certain age or income level. Has he at least enrolled in the VA to see what he may qualify for, based on income, age and level of medical need? Not saying he will qualify for any disability or in-home care, but you may be surprised at what he can get. May beat a sharp stick in the eye. For example, he may be able to defray costs of insulin, which can be substantial.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 08, 2022 - 05:58 am: Edit

We are already looking into this but Medicare will pay for an internal medicine specialist so he doesn't need VA doctors. The insulin thing is being looked into but it appears Medicare already covers all of that.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, February 09, 2022 - 05:30 pm: Edit

An update;

Steve P's brother went home today. We all enjoyed meeting him.

Steve P will have a diabetic eye exam next Tuesday. That will determine if he can drive.

Steve P's problem with walking is "dizzy spells" which seem to be caused by his medication. That has been adjusted and in theory he will progress to a cane by next week and then be released in another few days.

He probably will have to move from Canyon (the small college town south of here) to Amarillo to be closer to the office.