i had a Lumbar 4-5 posterior fusion April 11. I spent 11 days in hospital , 3 in ICU..
my question is this, how can one get in a rehab after surgery? my doc ask, but my insurance turned me doen I was told my physical therapy notes indicate I could walk with a walker, so I coud not go to rehab.
I can't tell you haw hard this has been on me and my husband. he is 58 and had hurt his houlder and lifting me has made it worse , so much so he had to get a MRI this week. Not only that, he is not a pleasnat man, and did not llike tking care of me. he woud get angry and yell at me and I often went days without a bath. I had home heath briefly b/c the incision got infected but it cleared u quickly. pt then came 3 time a week, but just for exercises. I asked for a social consult an got one but b/c of pt notes, I was not allowed a person to hep me bathe. it seems that if there is a warm body in the house, they have to do it.
I am disgusted at the care we received. now my husbnd is going to have to have somethig done to his shoudler and he's having problems with his feet. It was very hard. he has to work and I do not have a perosn who has nothing better to do than take off a month and care for me.



anyone ever get help and how did you do it. i don't understnd this. we shoud have qualifed for help. I have a primary insurance through his company and medicare. someone told me tht if you can walk at all, even with a walker, you cannot go to rehab or get signifanct homehealth.
How can they do this to people? How can they expect people to take off from work and all that? this has been hard on us, money wise. My husband can't afford to lose his job? same way with apts. someone has to bring me. Well, what if there is not a "someone'.

I'm not a baby, I have and did tke care for myself quite a bit, but know for darn sure i did things I should not have I did it b/c ik had no help and had to (got to eat and have clean clothes and bathe)
rocki

Hi Rocki,

Sorry to hear you are having such difficulties in so many ways. I can't offer you a story to help you as I have been very fortunate to be surrounded with lots of help and support before and after my lumbar fusion on 4/18.

Can you get to and use the phone? You are suffering a hardship and I think you need to be talking and asking people to LISTEN. I would start by contacting the HR Department (at your hubby's work). They are the administrators of the insurance, and may offer you some ideas in regards to the insurance.

Second, I would be calling the insurance company and ask about homecare and what is covered and what is not. Then make sure to fully explain your home situation, and that your husband is physically unable to assist you as you need because he is injured and is also working to pay the bills. Ask them what options you have under the terms of the policy. It never hurts to ask questions, and if you don't think the person you are talking to is explaining things to you in a way you understand, as them to re explain it, or ask to speak to a supervisor so that you better understand.

Are you in a position where social security or medicare could help out in any way? Just a thought.

Lastly, call the PT and tell them what is going on with you and also what is and is not happening in your home, care wise. Not is not the time to be modest.. be honest, you need help. Tell the PT that because of the notes.. you are not getting the proper care that you so desperately need.

Good luck and please post back to this same post you started and let us know how you are doing. I wish you wellness. Tammy

oh boy,that not good,my doctor told me would get Rehab in hospital,I'm under comp,but need some help at home,I'm not sure if comp allows anyone to come and assist,must try to find out.I was thinking wearing those disposable pull up diapers at night so can pee without getting up several times and rest a bit,is that good idea?

Hello Rocki-
I really don't have any specific answers for you. Your story is hard to hear so I can only imagine the living of it must be pretty painful. Others have given you really good advice. You MUST be your own best advocate. Health care has changed and you must tell people your situation and you must demand better care. The days where you could assume 'they' would take care of everything are long, long gone. Make those phone calls and ask those hard questions. I would add to the list of possible sources of help other municipal or state governmental programs. Of course it depends on your state but most have bureaus and offices to assist people in getting the care they need. There are also non-government regional health care cooperatives or coalitions, usually. These folks may not be able to jump right in but they can probably get you connected to the folks that can help you.
I have learned that many times the medical providers' hands are tied by the insurance companies. They simply have to do A before they will do B. A simple 'No' from the patient may be all they need to move from A to B. Here is an example: I had a lump in my breast. It was palpable but didn't show up on the mammogram. My GP referred me to a breast cancer surgeon who felt it, agreed it was a lump, agreed it might be cancerous but wanted to 'watch it' for 6 months to a year before doing a biopsy. This surgeon had reasons why she thought it was unlikely to be cancerous. But nothing short of a biopsy could tell for sure. I was very upset and sort of speechless that she expected me to sit on this for so long. I found my voice and I said, 'No'. I said I wanted the biopsy and would find someone willing to do it. The surgeon did a 180 degree turn, 'Oh, well that's fine, I'll do the biopsy for you if that is what you want'. I am sure that she had to try to put me off but when I said 'No' we went from A to B in a dang hurry.
I am nobody's idea of aggressive but I have learned to be assertive. I ask my questions and I ask my medical people for help but I also sometimes and politely just say 'No'. It has worked so much better than I ever thought it would.
I am so sorry, Rocki, that your ordeal has been so extremely unpleasant. I do hope you will use this board to find some emotional support. I am a governmental employee in NH. I love my work and I know there are many dedicated and compassionate people who work for my state and for the residents of New Hampshire. I'm willing to bet your state has the same. Find them, Rocki. They are there and at an 800 number, too. Someone can help you find a way through this. Best of luck - Suzy-Q

Hi Rocki,
I didnt' see your age, I'm assuming your around hubby's age somewhere, did you try calling the dept. of aging in your area, they may be of some help, I do not know how to contact them but my father in law got a tremendous amount of help from them, he lived alone but his nine kids helped alot. They even arranged it so his one daughter who already put many hours a week into his care, from her own time not work time, she was trained as a care giver, but didnt get paid to care for him, they said he qualified for 28 hours a week so they paid her for what she was already doing for free.

You may want to call your councilman or state rep. they can put you in touch with the right places too. Maybe the social worker at the hospital you were at can help too, they know many agencies at least you can try to contact.

I would play up the hurt shoulder and call and tell them that your hubby is hurt now and you NEED the care now,that you have no one to help like before he hurt himself.

It's such a shame that you should be put in such a position. We all certainly need the basics in care to begin to thrive again.

Good luck and God Bless, I hope you get help very soon.

Carol

Rocky,
I am so sorry to hear about your situation. As you can see, our health care programs are in the toilet.

My mom fell and broke both wrists. I went to help her out but could not stay. We called everywhere. It seems that she had too much money for any type of assistance. But, if you put your name on a list, they have places that give rides through most social services with the state or county.

After my mom's fall she quickly found a very small church and became close to the minister and his family and that helped a lot. People from the church came by to help her out.

It isn't until we are really in dire need that we realize that we are not prepared. If something happened to me where I could not get around my house or had surgery, I would be sunk. I am all my husband has for a nurse and I just saw him through neck and foot surgery. It sucks.

They just want to cut you up, stitch you up and send ya on your way. That is why community is so important. I didn't see this until my mom's accident and then my husband's surgeries.

If you call the local Senior Citizens, they should be able to put you in touch with different agencies. They usually have a booklet, or know someone who puts out a booklet that has the name of agencies and what they do.

You are in my prayers,
:angel: