The saga continues
Ray hasn't been walking, except up and down the stairs for the bedroom, all winter long. And popping in and out of the car, but lately he seems to prefer waiting for me rather than coming in the stores. Hasn't had the AFO on even once. Then the other day I asked him why he doesn't get into his wheelchair by himself anymore, which he can do from the low couch in front of the TV. It was good to know I could leave him there and that he could get to the front door or out the ramp in the garage if he needed to. By the look on his face, I realized he is getting very weak and unsure of himself. And I know it's from sitting all winter long; I remember how I felt when I didn't go to the gym for three months last summer. Last time he tried to get up, while I was outside shoveling, he ended up on the floor, I guess he's afraid to even attempt it anymore. So I announced that he was going to walk around the house every day from now on, and he was actually into it. He used to work out in the basement before the stroke, so it's not like he's totally lazy!
First day, I pull out the quad cane, and he couldn't even make it around once. Twenty steps, if that. He used to do three or four laps, over 100 steps, but after this short walk he was ready to fall down from exhaustion. It was scary! Plus when he finally sat down he was breathing like he had just sprinted a mile. After a couple of times like that, I realized he had to go back to the hemi walker and that helped a bit. He did a full lap first time after that change, and is up to one and a half now, after less than a week. But still ready to collapse at the end. I skipped yesterday due to the drama of me going out to lunch, hope the break will do him good.
So speaking of lunch, and our wonderful aide. She had called off sick, four days in a row, and her office only found out accidentally the fourth day, which was Monday. They called here looking for her, after she told me she was going in to tell them about her time off last week. Another lie, obviously. A meeting between her and her supervisor was promptly scheduled for Tuesday, the day before my eagerly awaited lunch date with a new friend. We've gone out beflore and she's been over the house, but Ray was always there with us. This was so exciting to me, to go out on my own and enjoy some girl talk, with no interruptions. I called Tuesday morning to see if I should cancel my plans and they said they'd call back later, after their "meeting". I didn't hear from anyone until the end of the day; then the manager called to say great news, I am changing her hours to 12:30 through 4:30. Those hours are great, but all I could think about at the time was my lunch date which I had scheduled planning on her being here 11 to 1. The greatest news would have been a new aide, but whatever. So I talked to Ray about staying by himself for a bit, and pushed the time to meet my friend up to noon, and figured I had it all covered. Plus I could stay out a little longer instead of rushing home before 1!
Ray didn't want me to unlock the front door, he was telling me he wasn't letting her in, but I told him just let her in and then you can try to send her away if you so desire. I figured let her deal with it. So he relented, I unlocked it and went on my merry way. I called home a little before one, and the aide answered, and we went over her new hours again, just to be sure. I told her I'd be home way before 4:30 so she could leave any time after that, in case she wasn't fully recovered. Then just before 2:30 Ray called so I told him I was just leaving, which I was. I had told him that was when I would be home, and he never forgets what time it is.
I get home 2:45 and to my surprise, the aide was not there. I questioned Ray the best I could, he definitely told me she had come 15 minutes late as usual, despite the new improved schedule, and that she had left around 2:30, right before he called me, but he didn't know why. I call her agency and they too were mystified. They call me back about 15 minutes later (it's now 3:30) and say oh she went to pick up her prescription at Walmart for her leg. And if you ever want her to pick anything up for you too, just let her know. Ummm, I thought the reason she came was so I could go out shopping myself? While someone would be with Ray so I didn't have to worry? Now it's turning fishy on all levels. So as I'm on the phone, the aide knocks on the front door as they said she would, and I don't know what to say to her, just told her to go home since I was here now. Then I stewed about it all night.
So today I'm writing down everything that has happened since she first came to us, including the lying about her place being closed on St Pats. I mean, she's not even a good liar, for someone who does it so regularly. It's actually pretty scary when I think about all that she has pulled in less than a month. I will call her office to tell them I am faxing the letter to them, with cc's to Guildnet (Ray's main LTMC agency, who oversees the aide situation) and also Social Services so they can check any payments that may have been made fraudulently. Speaking of which, can you believe that I was telling my mother about all this yesterday morning and she got on her high horse and started saying, that's MY money the government is spending! She said it a bunch of times, and I finally had to tell her that if it wasn't for in-home care, Ray would be in a nursing home and the government would be spending a lot more of HER money. She watches way too much Fox News. Just another annoyance in a day full of it.
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