Help is not coming (rant #2)

Mom was discharged from nursing home last Friday and is back in assisted living.  I did a little math.  Hospital kept her a week for intravenous antibiotics but she was too weak to go back to assisted living, so she went to a nursing home for physical therapy.  Only they kept her there for as long as Medicare would pay for without out-of-pocket expenses, which is 21 days.  She did bounce back to hospital twice while she was there, but she probably could have been discharged 5-7 days earlier.  It's just all about insurance.

The caregivers are spread thin so I must go every night to be her private caregiver for a few hours every night.  I didn't go back Friday evening but I went early Saturday.  It was July 4.  I just wanted to make sure she is eating, she lost so much weight the month she was away in a black hole.  She preferred the boneless ribs I brought for my dinner to her cheeseburger so we traded then she had extra helpings of the watermelon I brought for her. 

Sunday, I was a bit late for dinner, 6:30-ish.  She was left in bed since lunch and her dinner was on the table.  Well she can't get out of bed herself, so nobody showed up in 2 hours to help her eat.  She's one-handed now, she's not able to cut up the chicken by herself.  I got her out of bed, she ate everything & more watermelon.  I don't have the confidence that anyone would come to help her if I choose to take a day off.

Monday, a work day for me, my stomach acids were churning up again, so I left the dinner I cooked on the kitchen counter and went to see Mom.  She ate all her dinner and had been put to bed already by 7pm.  They didn't take out her dentures.  I don't know when she was changed, but I asked them to look in on her by 10:30.  I don't know if it happened, but if they don't change her on schedule, I'm afraid she's headed for another UTI.  I was so tired, had to go home.

Tonight, Mom had already finished her dinner when I got there.  I had like 30 min turn-around time at home, which is no time to eat.  I packed my dinner & rushed off to see her.  I don't know what she had for dinner or how much but I she enjoyed the watermelon while I ate my dinner.  The nurse is new, Mom wasn't taking medicine from her.  I got her to take it.  I asked the caregiver to come back to help me put Mom to bed at 8pm.  Nobody came for an hour, so I pushed the button.  And pushed again after 20 min.  Nobody came for another 30 min.  By that time, I already prepped mom for bed & had her in bed.  I just needed help in cleaning her up.  Mom's very squirmy, doesn't like the cold disposable washcloths.  So my laundry doesn't get done again.  I know the caregiver is spread thin, she's tending to over half the residents all by herself today.  She's supposed to be training a new caregiver who went MIA tonight.  So that's me working over 12 hours today.