Fall into Summer

Raj has had more falls recently. Since moving to Emeritus, he's fallen twice with no significant injury; then yesterday, he fell and hit his head on the sidewalk when I dropped him off from getting new cell phones. This required an ER visit, where he had various tests to determine brain injury/concussion/blood levels. He had a chest X-ray and CT scan, which he needed anyway, and there was no lasting damage found. This will be the first hospital services under his Medicare/Supplemental coverage, so it will be interesting to see the difference.

The kids are finished with the school year, and adjusting to Daisy, the dog.

A May to Remember

This has been an eventful month! After a successful short sale closing on Dave's house, Raj received the official "release" from foreclosure proceedings.

It took all of April and May, but we now have medical/dental/vision coverage in force for all 4 of us (hope to have a corrected bill generated by tomorrow so I can pay the right premium!); I have Raj signed up for Medicare A & B, as well as a Medicare Advantage plan, to commence June 1. Thank the Lord his pass-outs have lessened in frequency, so no emergency care was necessary during our lapse in insurance!

I researched and found Emeritus, a better fit for Raj's assisted living care and our budget. He is now moved into this facility - within our own suburb, and a stone's throw from most of his medical providers. By some miracle, he found his lost wallet right before the move!

The bills from Raj's stay at Rush have begun to arrive, so I'm working with a 3rd party to reduce them to a more manageable level. There's also RUMC Financial Counseling, which I'll work with after insurance, to explore any additional help.

The Line of Credit we had on the Wauconda land came due, so I paid off that balance, incurring unexpected fees, while coming up with the 1st half of Lake County property taxes ($4,260). Why they collect the 2nd half of the taxes in only 3 months, I do not know.

My Financial Advisor and her partner are retiring, so I've had an initial meeting with the replacement, and he'll have his work cut out for him! I've become rather creative in saving/finding cash flow - paid surveys, cashing in points from various reward programs, selling the remaining silver and gold, selling sporting equipment/DVDs/electronics, accepting help from Mom, stopped saving for retirement/college, taking only essential medications, . . .

It's exhausting.

Oh, and we (read Ruth) adopted a shelter dog named Daisy 2 days ago!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

Good: Short sale on BIL's house closed 4/21; Estate sale company sold several items on consignment & sent a check; We're looking at other possibilities for Raj's assisted living;

Bad: Raj's termination from Allstate was processed incorrectly, and needs to be fixed before we can enroll in COBRA, so we're "on hold" for all medications/appointments; During Raj's stay at Rush, various out-of-network doctors decided to bestow him with visits & tests (separate from the pre-approved stuff he was there for), and now we're receiving HUGE bills; Sunrise increased their price for Raj staying there TWICE so far in 2011; Still have a bunch of stuff to sort/store/throw from the house clean-out;

Ugly: Sorting through and cleaning the BIL's house was truly awful, especially on short notice - the smells, life forms, lack of help/money, uncovering the years of deception and what we were really paying for . . . it makes me sick.

Updates

We lost all insurance with Raj's termination from Allstate 4/1, so I'm trying to figure out COBRA and Medicare (Raj is eligible 6/1). CitiMortgage accepted a short sale on Dave's house, so Mom and I have been feverishly trying to clear decades worth of STUFF (including a lot from their parents' place) out of the house we provided for my BIL. The new owner takes possession with the closing, scheduled for Thursday, 4/21.

Just Stuff

The kids and I had a nice Spring Break in Orlando, where we got to see my sister & her husband. And it was wonderful to have my aunts drive down to see Mom and us for a long weekend after that. Raj's PCP decided he had to SEE him to change a prescription, so I had to coordinate paid transport to/from St. Alexius & copay over the phone during our return travel Thursday. I'm also discouraged about Raj's inpatient stay at Rush University Hospital. They ruled out epilepsy, then scheduled him for many new tests, all with gastro-specialists at Rush (similar to tests he's had the past 11 years), and we lose medical insurance April 1. Raj will have access to Medicare health insurance June 1, but I'm going to have to wait for COBRA paperwork to come so I can review possibilities for the girls and me. I'm dreading the Rush and Medicar bills, especially since Raj just broke another filling.

Rush

Raj has been an inpatient at Rush (downtown) since Monday. He's had several tests to possibly diagnose epilepsy or narcolepsy for when he loses consciousness. It would be nice to have additional information on what happens during his "events" to prevent or somehow improve his quality of life.

Today was supposed to be an FHA appraisal on Dave's house, since CitiMortgage accepted a short sale offer from an FHA buyer. I contracted with an estate sales company to sell as much stuff out of the house as possible, on consignment, and hope to pay for cleaning out the rest with those proceeds.

Updates

Raj had another fall on Feb. 20, which resulted in a bruise on his back; otherwise, OK. CitiMortgage refuses to accept any offer less than $155K for Dave's house, and by some miracle, offers keep coming. I haven't found a way to coordinate cleaning it out - especially without heat & plumbing. Unexpected expenses (snow service not showing up after the blizzard, then threatening to sue me for payment anyway; washer broke; Raj and Ruth both chipped teeth; I needed a biopsy) have really made finances tough. Sunrise, where Raj resides, also increased costs, although our disability income remains the same.

The Line of Credit against the land is due this spring, when Raj is being terminated from Allstate. Unfortunately, in 2 years none of the investments have recovered, and I can't wait any more; I sold the last of the Estate to pay off the Line, and will need a miracle to pay the taxes and insurance point forward! Medicare doesn't start for Raj until 6/1, so I'm not sure what we'll use for medical (for Raj, nor for the rest of us), since COBRA for all 4 of us will probably be too costly.