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Hi everyone. Thanks for taking the time to read this!
My mom fell down in the middle of the night and woke up on the floor unable to move. Over three hours, she crawled to her cell phone and mashed it until it called me, slurring "911." On May 16, she was admitted to Jersey Shore Hospital with what they thought was a pretty routine stroke.
Since then we found out she did not have a stroke. I made all of her doctors assure me, repeatedly, that she had a "perfect brain"—which is amazing news!—except she still can't move or speak even close to normally.
There still has been no conclusive diagnosis. We have a specialist appointment at RWJ scheduled for July 23. But since it's "not a stroke," her insurance has denied coverage for a lot of seemingly-essential care. For example, her stay at a subacute rehab facility was cut two weeks short and the recommended in-home care would cost >$200 each visit, upon visit.
You might know how much I love my mom. She is unironically my best friend. We are each others only reliable lifeline. Over the past couple years we've forged an independent, functional, yet incredibly fragile financial stasis.
This would be horrifying, but fiscally manageable, if not for one more thing that the "not a stroke" diagnosis fucked up: her FMLA claim has been stuck in limbo this entire time. First because no doctor could put a diagnosis on the form, and now because the insurance company is unsure if this is covered. She has no income to replace her normal 40 hours a week.
So in sum, I just paid two entire months of my mom’s rent and utilities. On top of up-front medical costs, food, transportation to Belmar from Bed Stuy, cabs for her outpatient PT, and, of course, care for her dog Olive. I just don’t make enough money for this. We have no financial support net beyond each other. I don’t have enough money to pay for a subway home,* not to mention my own rent this month (hi roommates).
Any medical bills we’ve gotten are stashed in a “rainy day” folder so that's not even an issue right now. I really just need enough money to compensate for the hit I've taken up to now so I can buy dinner, deodorant, my rent, the subway home*, and rent this month (hi roommates).
*feel free to venmo me $2.75 @paigelaino because who would want me to ride my bike home right now lol.
My mom fell down in the middle of the night and woke up on the floor unable to move. Over three hours, she crawled to her cell phone and mashed it until it called me, slurring "911." On May 16, she was admitted to Jersey Shore Hospital with what they thought was a pretty routine stroke.
Since then we found out she did not have a stroke. I made all of her doctors assure me, repeatedly, that she had a "perfect brain"—which is amazing news!—except she still can't move or speak even close to normally.
There still has been no conclusive diagnosis. We have a specialist appointment at RWJ scheduled for July 23. But since it's "not a stroke," her insurance has denied coverage for a lot of seemingly-essential care. For example, her stay at a subacute rehab facility was cut two weeks short and the recommended in-home care would cost >$200 each visit, upon visit.
You might know how much I love my mom. She is unironically my best friend. We are each others only reliable lifeline. Over the past couple years we've forged an independent, functional, yet incredibly fragile financial stasis.
This would be horrifying, but fiscally manageable, if not for one more thing that the "not a stroke" diagnosis fucked up: her FMLA claim has been stuck in limbo this entire time. First because no doctor could put a diagnosis on the form, and now because the insurance company is unsure if this is covered. She has no income to replace her normal 40 hours a week.
So in sum, I just paid two entire months of my mom’s rent and utilities. On top of up-front medical costs, food, transportation to Belmar from Bed Stuy, cabs for her outpatient PT, and, of course, care for her dog Olive. I just don’t make enough money for this. We have no financial support net beyond each other. I don’t have enough money to pay for a subway home,* not to mention my own rent this month (hi roommates).
Any medical bills we’ve gotten are stashed in a “rainy day” folder so that's not even an issue right now. I really just need enough money to compensate for the hit I've taken up to now so I can buy dinner, deodorant, my rent, the subway home*, and rent this month (hi roommates).
*feel free to venmo me $2.75 @paigelaino because who would want me to ride my bike home right now lol.