Recent content by mytwoboys

Sherry, Make sure you have debit/credit cards issued in your name. I had POA and was using his debit card (my name was on the account - I just didn't have a card) since that was the deposit account for his disability checks. Within 2 days of his death, the banks picked up his social security...

Becca, I also remember you well and (honestly) have thought of you often. Your devotion to your husband remains admirable. My boys are older than your kiddos, but it was comforting to know others dealing with this with younger kids around. My husband passed in December 2010. We are doing ok...

I still lurk here 3 years after my husband's passing. 2 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats and a full-time job keep me very busy.

Another thought/suggestion - check with your employer about applying for SSDI. My husband's (and mine) employer (a pretty large company) contracted with a service for the SS application process. I didn't know about it until I was told. The service did all the paperwork; I participated in a...

For what it's worth..... We also paid $20 per hour. Insurance paid for it in the beginning (about 5 months worth in 2009). In 2010, they declined and pretty much told us that his condition was about as bad as it was going to get without actually dying. They considered it "custodial care" and...

I experienced the exact same thing for months after my husband was diagnosed. I blamed stress, nerves, worrying........

I don't post much anymore, but I do lurk. My two boys (13 and 10) are also doing well. Both continue to be straight A students. The oldest is playing school baseball now instead of travel ball. They spend time with their friends. We have taken up kayaking and recently bought a camper -...

My two cents. I had the hardest time with my husband's truck. I traded it in for something smaller. Anyway - as I was sitting at the dealership starting on the paperwork for the car, I felt so sick to my stomach - I really thought I was going to throw up. There was a flood of memories of...

Just a thought from a very paranoid lives in the country me..... I tend to be pretty careful about which clerks, stores, telemarketers, etc. I inform of my (ugh) "widowed" status. I have left my husband's name on a couple of things/accounts. I don't want some nut-case knowing I'm living alone...

Another note on survivor's benefits..... I do not receive benefits for myself as I continue to work full time. My children were receiving a small amount for my late husband's disability - he passed in Dec 2010. Their disability benefits converted directly to survivor's benefits for them...

Janis, It hits us all in so many heartbreaking ways at times when we least expect it - it really can ruin the entire day just when you think you have yourself somewhat pulled-together. Updating my marital status was difficult. Having my late husband's employer send things addressed to him was...

The home health aides we used here in Ohio also were not allowed to perform a tube feed. We knew that when they were brought in to provide care while I worked. Fortunately, he was still able to eat very very soft foods until he moved into the hospice facility. The LPNs at the hospice were...

In our situation, Medicare automatically became my husband's primary insurer and his (former) workplace insurer became secondary. It worked well for us; when he moved into the hospice facility near the end for 2 months, Medicare paid for the hospice services and our private insurer paid for the...

One more thing about the ramp v. lift debate. Although I have no real experience with a lift, but with our ramp, if something went wrong with the ramp motor, etc. we had the option of manually folding and extending it. I don't think you can do that with a lift. If it malfunctions or breaks...

Hi Dani, I can't comment on the Rilutek, my husband only took it for a little while and didn't really tell me if he was having any side effects. Then he gave up on it. Regarding ramp v. lift..... I was given advice by a former CALS; she felt a ramp was better because as the motor skills in...