DH got a letter from his disability attorney(s) stating that his court date is Feb. 22. I made him call the attorney because they were not aware that he was working. When DH told them about his job, they did not seem concerned. They asked him how many hours he works and "It's part-time, right?" (of course). Then they asked him if he thought that his psychiatrist would sign a paper stating that DH cannot work full time. (Of course he will, because all this time the psychiatrist has been telling DH that he should not be working at all, not even part time [but me getting laid off last year made him feel like he needed to work and I am glad most of the time]).
The thing is, I have never heard of anyone getting disability and working....? I guess I knew that he could work a day or two, but I didn't know that he might still qualify for something--don't worry, my hopes aren't up....I'm not convinced that DH gave them all the right information. But I've been thinking about it anyhow....wouldn't that be nice??!!
My mom seems to be mentally a little more stable. There's currently no "weirdness", and we can talk about the weather and what she had for supper, etc...so in that sense, things have "stabilized". However, she's still not eating much and yesterday she "didn't feel good" to the point where she slept ALL day and the aides couldn't get her to wake up to take her pills or change into her nightgown. When I visited, I couldn't get her to wake up either. The nurses were concerned about this and also that my mom has been emitting a "foul" odor, kind of like really bad diarrhea, but she is clean and things seem to be functioning in that department. I've never heard of that before, either, so I'm worrying about what's going on inside her.
And to make things even more uplifting where my mom is concerned, well, in the last year or so, when I've been visiting every day, I've gotten to know a lot of the residents. And over the weekend this past weekend, two long-time residents passed away, and that made me sad. I know it's a part of life but I'm sad for their families and missing them (the residents) myself. Sometimes I wonder, because I'm so very fond of some of the residents there, if/when something happens to my mom, whether I would keep going back to visit....and my answer changes every day.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Disability--an option I thought was "done for"....
Posted by Carol at 10:59 AM
Labels: dementia, disability, elderly, mom, nursing home, psychiatrist, work
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4 comments:
I think there is a certain hours a week limit on what a person can work and still get disability. Sean will be collecting his federal disability forever as long as he doesn't earn more than he was making when he applied. This isn't Social Security disability however but through the post office. We will never know if he could have gotten SS because he refused to apply a second time saying he was "fine". I hope DH is able to get SS. You might think about taking the day to go with him to make sure all the answers are correct and that he shows up. Good Luck!
I'm glad your mother has had some lucid days. They're all a blessing.
You might want to ask your mother's doctor if the foul odor could be acetone caused by ketosis. That could also explain your mother's lack of appetite and her sleeping so much.
I assume the nurses you spoke to are RNs and not just aides. They should have enough experience with the bedridden elderly to recognize the cause of unusual odors in their patients but you never know.
If it's ketosis her kidneys could be compromised.
As for your husband's psychiatrist being in favor of him not working I'm frankly shocked. I would think that having somewhere to go and duties to perform would be better for your husband;s mental health than lying around the house all day, but then I'm not a psychiatrist, thank God.
According to this link: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook/newfor2011.htm, I think it's more the total monthly earnings that SS would look at rather than the # of hours a week that the person was working.
I don't find it shocking at all that the psychiatrist would say that about DH. Mine has about me. I have plenty to keep me busy, whether around the living space or out and about in the community. I volunteer for my local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) affiliate and am currently on the Consumer Council at my state-level NAMI. Good luck with DH and your mom, regardless.
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