Elder Care Journey by Laura Katz Olson

Elder Care Journey by Laura Katz Olson

Author:Laura Katz Olson [Olson, Laura Katz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Gerontology, Political Science, Public Policy, General, Sociology
ISBN: 9781438460758
Google: I2cJDAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 27787588
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2016-04-21T03:03:27+00:00


Next on my list were the arrangements for getting my mother to Pennsylvania and closing up her apartment. My first concern was transportation. How was I going to take her to and from the airports? If she couldn’t walk, how would she board the plane? My mother now weighed roughly 190 pounds. As I began the series of phone calls I braced myself for the inevitable frustrating chain of customer agents, transfers, disconnections, holds, irritating Muzak, and inane automatic apologies for keeping me waiting.

At United Airlines, the standard programmed voice urged me to use their website but, as usual, I stubbornly stayed on the line. In due course, an airlines representative answered, and transferred me to their disability desk. A seemingly understanding and knowledgeable woman verified that they had special equipment and assistance for wheelchair-bound customers. She would put a note on my reservation indicating that mom needed help.

Transportation to and from airports was my next challenge. Since it was possible that mom’s Medicare Advantage insurance might pay for the Florida segment, I telephoned the appropriate department. The company’s agents would only talk to the beneficiary so, frustrated and pressed for time, I pretended to be Dorothy Katz. Even so, there was the usual ritual of “security” questions, answering machines, and holds. After a few days, one of Humana’s go-to persons for transportation actually picked up the phone. She promised to check out the situation and call me back. I never heard from her again. Attempts to contact her only resulted in more answering machines and holds.

I next googled “wheelchair accessible taxis,” winnowed out what appeared to be credible options and commenced with yet another succession of exasperating phone calls. Apparently these companies weren’t allowed to pick up nursing home patients without the authorization of the facility. My approval, despite having Power of Attorney, was not good enough. The reasoning behind this regulation eluded me. Visualizing the maddening struggle that would be entailed in obtaining consent from Hollywood Hills, I kept telephoning places until, eventually, one of them agreed to transport us.

The second half of the journey, the long trip from Newark airport to Gracedale, turned out to be the most troublesome. Nobody at any of the car services in the area seemed to know whether they could take passengers such a long distance or across state lines. They’d get back to me. Yeah, right. With much perseverance, I located a limousine that had a Newark to Nazareth route. Unfortunately, it couldn’t accommodate a wheelchair. I almost gave up. Several days later I scored a success and grabbed it, not even asking about the price.

A thought nagged at me. What if my mother couldn’t fly at all? Julie had told me that she was connected to an oxygen tank again at the nursing home. Back to the drawing board for fallbacks. I entered “long distance wheelchair transportation” into the search engine and was inundated with responses. More phone calls. More quotes. The 1,250 mile trip From Florida to Nazareth, Pennsylvania,



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