and it looks as if she's lost movement in most of her body. Up to this point, we've been able to take care of her at home, but now, sad to say, it's possible that may not be able to do so. This just happened earlier this evening, so it's hard to ascertain the damage and her rate of recovery.

I started looking for links and info pertaining to the elderly disabled and Y2k. If you know of anything, please post it here. This is something we thought about recently, but thought would never happen so soon. :::sigh:::

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), May 28, 1999

Answers

sorry about your grandmother-- best wishes to her and your family.

-- (crtwheel@eburg.com), May 28, 1999.

My condolences to you and your family.

The forum has 172 threads on health issues, some of which have links to other web sites that offer good information. Two examples are:

http://www.va.gov/year2000/conguide/

with thanks to Brian, and

http://www.preparenow.org/prepare.html

with thanks to Diane Squire.

Other than that, you might be able to get some more information from your local nursing homes.

Another that could probably help is Leska or Ashton at:

allaha@earthlink.net

Best Wishes to You and Yours.

-- LP (soldog@hotmail.com), May 28, 1999.

Very sorry, Tim. Good thoughts to your family.

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), May 28, 1999.

While my MIL is 80 and not 95, she had a severe stroke two months ago. Her whole left side was knocked out and she had a hard time verbalizing. Her mind, however, was not affected. She was in the hospital for 5 days and then moved to s STROKE REHAB place where she spent 6 weeks. She came home two days ago and while her arm is not yet useable, she talks and walks and is doing really great. She can go to the bathroom by herself, she takes care of her dentures, hair, hearing aid and yesterday even did a few dishes. They worked her butt of in that rehab unit. Medicare picked up the first 20 days of rehab and her supplimental insurance paid the 20% not covered by Medicare. Then at day 21 her supplemental insurance picked up the bill 100%. Don't know if any of this helps you Tim, but if its possible, get her into a rehab unit. Good luck

Taz

-- Taz (Tassie @aol.com), May 28, 1999.

* * * 19990528 Friday

Condolences, Tim! Stroke is the biggest debilitating affliction amongst the elderly. Tough times will require all her strength for recovery.

Y2K will definitely put a crimp in current treatment. Some harsh realities re Y2K repercussions and fall-out will be hitting a lot of folks between the eyes in the coming months. I have a relative that's considering pushing a major surgery up--although it would be considered "elective" at this point in time. She doesn't want to push into the post-Y2K envelop era for feliable access to the level of medical care we enjoy today.

I wish you and your family well!

Regards, Bob Mangus * * *

-- Robert Mangus (rmangus@hotmail.com), May 28, 1999.

Sounds like you need to find out real soon what your options for next year might be, in particular which facilities have a moderate contingency plan. For instance, many of the nursing home and other elderly care facilities I'm familiar with have generators, but either operate on natural gas (which is not a sure bet) or have diesel tanks with limited capacity. There is still time to put pressure on a facility to ramp up. Good luck! This may well be the hardest issue many families deal with.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), May 28, 1999.

Sorry to her that Tim! My thoughts are with you and your grandmother.

Let us know if there's a specific topic you need researched.

I'll "e" Leska. She's the expert.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), May 28, 1999.

Tim-I'm sorry about your grandmother. Please excuse my bluntness but my suggestion is to find out if her physician feels that this stroke and it's effects are life-threatening, life ending. If so, you might try contacting a local hospice organization. If her physician feels that her condition is terminal, she could be taken care of at home by you, assisted by nurses and aides. This care is funded by Medicare.

I'm sorry to be so blunt but this info may be of use to you. If her condition is not terminal, then the suggestion about a rehab center is a great one. Things to think about her are your grandmother's drive to get better and her condition before the stroke.

This is a hard time for you and your family. It will help if you have friends who will let you talk through the experience.

I don't wish for your grandmother to die, just to retain her dignity and to be well cared for while she lives. Hope this helps, Linda

-- newbiebutnodummy (Linda@home.com), May 28, 1999.

your granmother could benefit right now from EDTA chelation. my husband successfully used it to prevent stroke, but it is also marvelous, and sometimes absolutely miraculous, to use AFTER a stroke. to find more info, and a local doctor, contact the American College for the Advancemnt of Medicine (ACAM) and their website is www.acam.org. good luck. btw, chelation is cheap! as well as effective.

-- jocelyne slough (jonslough@tln.net), May 28, 1999.

Tim, our sympathy over this sudden crisis for your grandmother.
Stroke can be devastating. It is literally a brain attack. And humans really need their brains to be in perfect working order.

The good news is that stroke damage is often lessened as time and therapy go by. It is hard work to recover. For a 95-year old, summoning the strength and will may be more of a challenge. But that all depends on the individual, and to some extent family support.

First, a stroke will be carefully watched the first 24 hours from onset. If the symptoms fade within 24 hours, the Dr. may label the incident a TIA. TIAs should not be brushed aside; they are indicative of serious circulatory problems and must be investigated and preventative measures adopted.

Usually a TIA will not involve whole-body paralysis -- that sounds more like a serious full-blown stroke. Many strokes affect one side of the body. The Drs at the Hospital will probably do various tests to determine just exactly what happened, especially to ascertain if it was a blood clot or a hemorrhage. That distinction is very important for treatment.

Click through this excellent site for detailed info re strokes:

Stroke Information Library

This is the National Stroke Association Web Site, and here you will get accurate and timely information. Stroke is a huge disabler which affects, eventually, a large percentage of the US population. The more one knows what to look out for, the better prepared one is to deal with stroke.

Stroke more often leaves people in chronic conditions of severe limitations than killing them.
Nobody wants to be imprisoned in a body which is unable to talk, drink, walk, move, function, or express itself -- especially with Y2K meltdowns taking out the medical infrastructure, which even according to Congresscritters is a given.

What can you do to help? In the first 24 hours, advocate agressive medical intervention and drug therapy! If a blood clot stroke, there are powerful proven drugs that can greatly limit brain cell damage. Press the Drs to ACT swiftly! You can read on the above site how views and treatment of stroke are rapidly changing. Some Drs & Hospitals are not on the ball yet, tragically. Become educated and advocate for the pt!

OK, now if the pt is in the Hospital, has gotten all treatments, what can you do? There are two enormous immediate risks: BEDSORES + ASPIRATION.
A stroke often knocks out the ability to swallow correctly. This may not be apparent right away. As a result, a pt will quietly struggle through a couple days of meals, and suddenly develop severe pneumonia. Why? Because the liquid ingested has gone into the lungs.

A stroke patient MUST be fed and observed very very vigilantly. Each bite and swallow must be monitored. The pt must be sitting up, alert, and kept aware that they are eating/drinking. Any signs of choking or caughing or distress -- STOP! Get a therapist in immediately. Sometimes the Drs will order no intake by mouth and will use IVs & feeding tubes, plus therapy, until they are sure the pt can swallow correctly.

Hospital personnel DO NOT HAVE TIME to patiently oh-so-carefully feed patients. They also do not have time to turn the patient every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, which is a MUST !!!!!!!!!

Bedsores -- horrible. Develop very fast, start from deep within around bone and muscle and work outwards. Form exactly where the body pressure causes dampened circulation, which is where -- understand this -- the patient rests most comfortably and where they wish to be!

A patient therefore will resist being repositioned, and wants to stay put where comfortable. The result? Nasty painful life-threatening tissue death, and MONTHs of not being able to sit/lay in that position which they originally chose as most comfortable! That's the hell of it.

So, what MUST be done, is that patient MUST be turned side-to-side at least every 2 hours, right from the very beginning (bedsores don't show up until the damage is already substantial, and then you have one disastrous complication to contend with).

The body must be supported and aligned correctly with pillow support. The coccyx & buttocks must be relieved of pressure, the heels must be suspended, the ears and elbows relieved and moved, the knees separated by pillows, the neck kept gently limber, the hips massaged and freed of pressure alternately, Range of Motion done before & after each turn, etc.

Families sometimes set up a schedule of visitation and rotate these duties among family members. Hospital personnel will show you how to carefully, smoothly do these turns and repositionings. The physical therapists & nurses are both necessary consults to determine the best positioning methods specific to each patient and their condition.

If family members are working and cannot attend the patient, hire a CNA from a Home Care Agency to do the frequent turns, carefully monitor feedings/drinking, and keep the patient mentally stimulated and engaged between naps. It is important to exercise the brain to prevent more damage and start the recircuiting process.

Hiring thru an Agency is more expensive, with the benefit that the Agency may have a back-up pool of workers to keep the case supplied. Hiring privately will save $$ and may ensure more consistency, but then you may have other issues to contend with -- ask the Medical Social Worker for recommendations. If the Hospital tells you that they'll take care of everything and you don't need any extra help -- be wary. There really isn't time in most hospitals to give stroke patients the super-attendance they need.

Enough for one post -- that hot-linked Stroke site is full of the vital info everyone needs to deal with stroke. Good luck! The more you know now, before the Internet and Medicare/Medicaid/ Hospitals/ Dr offices go down, the better off you'll be.

Yes, healthcare as we know it is TOAST come 2000. Another system will build up from scratch to replace it. But you don't want to need care during that long interim ...

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), May 28, 1999.

Thanks, everyone. Your knowledge, prayers and condolences are greatly appreciated. Keeping my chin up and will surf those links after work.

You folks are really awesome...hopefully, other will be able to utilize the info generated by this thread.

-- Tim (pixmo@pixelquest.com), May 28, 1999.

Tim:

My mom is 86 and living at a type-B facility. For those of you who don't know the difference, this is something between an independent- living retirement community and a nursing home.

Mom recently had a dinner-mate who'd suffered a stroke. She spent (I think) 3-4 months at the facility while she recovered. She's now gone back home. Your grandmother may very well need TEMPORARY care, or more PERMANENT care...depending on the gravity of her stroke.

Here in Texas, the nursing homes that obtain state funding MUST prove Y2k compliance to stay in business. This means that they must have a generator to maintain equipment, etc. Of course my mom's place doesn't obtain state funding. They've told me that they're at the mercy of the local power station, so I've included Lucky (my mom) in the plan.

It COULD be that your grandmother will recover before you need to worry about her Y2k needs. Then again, she may not. Health at this age is as unpredictable as Y2k.

Anita

-- Anita Spooner (spoonera@msn.com), May 28, 1999.

Pick your nursing home well if you have to go this route and have another plan in mind. Our home is so hep on getting their computer system compliant but no extra supply food/water/blankets. Meds are on 7 day reorder and come from a pharmacy 100 MILES away daily!! Our sm. city had a planned power outage several weeks ago to do some repair work...we could hear our facility generator going but no lights in side...some fuse--never did get it fixed until past the power was back on..had to race around getting portable O2 tanks for all the people who had had their O2 concentrators attached to red plugs so they would be on the emergency system...had to get the flashlite from my car.....FYI !!

-- MUTTI (windance @train.missouri.org), May 28, 1999.