[Heineken]

I have no health insurance and no prospect of any (I'm 52 and no longer formally employed). Also, I'm responsible for two elderly parents (82 and 80 years old), who live in a separate house on our little farm. One of them (my dad) recently broke his hip and is currently in a nursing home for rehabilitation; his approximately six-week stay will be paid for by Medicare. Should either parent require permanent condemnation to a nursing home, the rest of us will be financially devastated by the spend-down provisions of Medicaid.

The local nursing home is a predictably grim place, and nothing can change that. My dad has already complained of uneven care; on one occasion he had to sit in his poop for an hour before a nurse answered his call button. I'm doing what I can for him by visiting every day.

The literature suggests that entry into a nursing home actually shortens life rather than extends it.

Both parents agree they'd much rather die at home, and I'm preparing to be their nurse. (I also have a companion who can help some, but he's much younger and works full-time.)

Since I lack health insurance, I also face the prospect of having to provide health care for myself (and by that I mean TO myself) whenever this is possible.

I have a very small amount of health care experience. I went through combat-medic training in the Army, but that was in 1974. Afterwards, I worked in an Army hospital as a sort of nursing assistant. Much later, I worked for many years as a manuscript editor for a pharmacy journal and gained intimate familiarity with pharmacy terminology and concepts (not of much use in the current situation, though).

Anyway, what I'm asking my dear friends at PO.com for is any manuals or books you could recommend that would help instruct me on practical skills for the sort of "do-it yourself health care" I and my parents may have to resort to.

The only book I know of that might fit the bill is "Where There Is No Doctor." I'm looking for similar suggestions (and opinions about that particular book and its relevance to my situation).

Given the country's steady direction into hopelessness, maybe we should all gain these skills (at least, those of us unlucky enough to live in a country with so shameful a health care "system" as the US). A deep recession (including an energy-related one) could swiftly cast many millions more into the dark pit of the uninsured and underinsured.

I thank you.

[SchroedingersCat]

Boy is this your lucky day. Hesperian just released all their books for free download. Where there is no doctor, etc. are all there. In full. God bless them.

Welcome to Hesperian’s Online Library

Good luck with this. I know what it can be like.

[SILENTTODD]

Heineken, is your dad a Vet?

If so, your state probably has veterans homes that both your parents would be able to live at and have their medical needs taken care of.

I have a very close retired friend who lives at the California Veterans Home in Barstow. It is a very nice, modern, well kept facility. My friend has his own studio size apartment there and is very pleased with his surroundings. He still drives and comes and goes as he pleases as he is still, at 78, in good health.

My friend is very active in Veteran organizations, and if your folks fit this description, I would be more than willing to find out from him what facilities your state offers.

[Heineken]

Yes, SILENTTODD, my dad is a disabled vet (he's had a 100% rating for at least the past five years). I haven't properly investigated the options for long-term care through the VA yet, since this whole nursing-home issue only recently came to a head because of the hip fracture. For years, I've been driving my dad (who is legally blind and quite unable to drive) to the McGuire VA Med Center in Richmond (an hour an a half away) for periodic checkups and preventive tests. He's been briefly hospitalized there a couple of times for severe flare-ups of his PTSD.

I've been meaning to look further into whatever long-term-care options might be available through the VA (I should have mentioned this in the opening post). Of course, even then, the quality of the care still remains a big concern.

Getting specific information from the VA about ANYTHING can be very difficult; it's the most faceless bureaucracy on earth, as well as the friendliest, depending on the direction of the wind.

I'd be very grateful for whatever information your friend could offer.

[SILENTTODD]

Heineken, Will give my buddy a call tomorrow and see what he can come up with or advice he can offer on locating Veteran Homes in your state of Virginia. He remarked to me the facility he lives in is not even filled, mainly because most Veterans don’t even know they exist. I know I wouldn’t have if I didn’t know him.

Homes like this for senior or disabled Veterans have existed in many if not most states since after the American Civil War. Will let you know what I can find. As a Vet myself I would be glad to do what I can to help another.

[CarlinsDarlin]

Heineken,
I was going to suggest the same thing as SilentTodd did - although not just for your dad, but also for you, should the need arise. I know what you mean about the VA being a faceless bureaucracy, but at the same time a great find. Carlin has been a patient of the VA for about 10 years now. He goes once a month or so for checkups and medication monitoring. His medications are provided to him through the VA for a small copay each month.

My nephew who served in Iraq and came home with serious back trouble and PTSD is also a patient. He pays nothing for his care (dependent on income - and with his back injury he is only able to work when it doesnt trouble him).

There is a veterans home near here as well. Many vets do not know about the home (I only know because I happen to know the director) - they are out there, just under the radar. There may be one in your area as well.

Good luck to you and your famiily. You are in a situation that many of us face or will be facing in the future. And thanks, SchroedingersCat, for the link. I've been wanting some of those books for a while now.

Kathy

[kevincarter]

One thing that you may have already considered is taking prevention seriously, that means not eating /drinking anything at all that’s not healthy. This we’ve heard it so many times that most people give no credit to it. But really, if all you drink is water (no coffee, cola, tea, juice that comes in a box or alcohol, well, maybe just a Heineken every now and then) and all you eat is healthy stuff, meat twice a week only, lots of vegetables and grain, no extra sugar, no fried stuff etc you’ll be much healthier.

[Heineken]

SILENT and Carlin'sD, thanks so much for raising my antennae about the VA possibilities. (And thanks, SILENT, for that telephone call!)

My Dad is a great guy but his life and ours have been forever crippled by some experiences he had in Germany in 1944-45. He was a recon man and jeep driver often working in the no-man's land between the lines, with nothing but booby traps between him and the Wehrmacht. He's never fully opened up about the things he saw and did, but I've learned enough to get that sobering glimpse of the truth. He came home with two Bronze Stars, a French medal, and a really messed-up mind.

Kevin, I'm all for healthy food, but there are many many conditions that it won't prevent or cure. I know you know this and I appreciate your comments.

[pedalling_faster]

just using a program like HT Track, available from Download.com, so that you have archives of websites like this, with this kind of information - not a bad idea.

[Ludi]

Extremely important topic. Thank you, Heineken.

[JBinKC]

If you know medical terminology for symptoms accurate diagnoses on the internet are easy to come by but the key is you must know medical terminology for a specific symptom.

Prevention is also a pound of cure. Know what supplements are critical to a healthy lifestyle.

[cynthia]

Diagnosis is inexpensive it's the treatment that is unaffordable. If your folks want to die at home then contact your local Hospice so you will know when to engage them. Most won't step in until death prognosis is within 6 months.
Hip surgery is not the end of life but it alters life measurably.

Talking "doc speak" at the vet Hospital should create attention. You are an articulate man (judging your posts) and I sense you will advocate for your folks because you care for them.

Cruise the herbal and alternative medicine aisles in your local bookstore or take advantage of my favorite bookstore for mailorders: http://www.powells.com/
Homeopathy takes hours of study to apply but check out the lay books for immediate application. Herbs the same. Acupuncture, I selected a practioner to do for me since Chinese medicine is another matter.
This is what we do in the uninsured world.
In admiration,
cynthia
PS Much impressed with your dam. I was pained reading about the drought.
And we will make the bluebird nesting boxes predator proof for the coming year early winter.
You are a gift of a person, Heineken.

[Heineken]

Cynthia, I don't usually do emoticons, but



(To me, that means simply "blush.")

I try to be a good person, but I have many inner devils demanding attention, also. So, like everyone else, I'm a mixed bag.

I've done some more research into the VA options and it appears that any vet with a 70% service-connected disability qualifies for a VA nursing facility or one of their home-care options. So we may be "covered" where Dad is concerned, although these programs are always changing and govt. funds are always constrained. My mom then becomes the problem. Not to mention myself.

Good luck with those bluebirds. A properly designed nest box, placed in the right setting, is such a rewarding project!

[Loki]

Heineken, these are my favorite health-related books. I'm quite healthy, so I really haven't had a lot of chance to try much out. But I've found these books to be informative:

James Duke, The Green Pharmacy
David Hoffman, Medical Herbalism
Paul Auerbach et al.'s Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine
AMA's Family Medical Guide (though it assumes you have easy access to a doctor)

There are other herbalism books that I like, but Duke and Hoffman are my two favorite (esp. Duke).

Auerbach is fairly technical, a lot of it over my head (he's an MD writing for medical professionals, so it's laden with jargon). But it's considered THE book for wilderness medicine. I took a wilderness first aid course that had us read The Mountaineer's Mountaineering First Aid, which is for the general reader. It's an OK book.

Have you looked into getting formal training? The wilderness first aid course I took was extremely informative. The assumption is that help is >24 hours away, so you have to deal with emergencies on your own. I'd like to do a wilderness first responder course next, and maybe after that WEMT. Good stuff to know regardless.

[Heineken]

Loki, thanks very much for the suggestions. I'll give the Auerbach book a try and maybe that wilderness guide. I'm not much of a fan of herbalism.

It would be nice to get some formal training, but I'm feeling overwhelmed these days. I've sometimes thought of volunteering for my county rescue squad, which provides some training and would probably be good experience. I received a total of 24 weeks of medic training in the Army, but that was too long ago to be of much use now.

I'm really good at pulling splinters.

[roccman]

[Heineken]

I have that one, Rocc. One of the most important books in my library.

[roccman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') have that one, Rocc. One of the most important books in my library.

[bonehead]

I'll bet every one of the 50 million or so americans without health insurance has had some experience with do it yourself health care.Maybe they'll be the ones best equipped to survive as they trample on all the fat cats.

[Heineken]

Roccman: Understood---and thanks, buddy.

Bonehead: An intriguing speculation.

I have a feeling that the true number of uninsured is far higher than the numbers we're fed, which tend to range from 44 million to 47 million. And the number of underinsured is rarely mentioned but must be enormous and growing rapidly. Add the two real numbers together and the true magnitude of the problem becomes even more chilling.