Some relief

I'm now at the nursing home most days. I'm glad to say my brother seems to be recovering and in better spirits. He doesn't talk, or sign, or communicate in any way but inarticulate drones and bleats, and rudimentary body language, so it's hard to tell. Nevertheless, I'm encouraged by his smiling again. He even laughs occasionally. I'm guessing his pain pills are effective. He's eating again. He swore that off over the weekend giving everybody a scare.

I'm through second guessing certain of my siblings in this matter, though. Anything is possible after he recovers. I'm certain he'll recover, at least to the point of walking with assistance.

Community home goes wrong

Things were going so well for a week. My brother was getting care, and I was carefree. I think the rest of my family were relieved, too.

Then on Tuesday, I hear my brother Joe had something wrong with his foot. My brother can't speak, remember. He was limping. As always, he couldn't tell anybody what was wrong. On Wednesday, it turned out it wasn't his foot, nor was it a light injury. He had a fractured knee. The surgeon reconstructed it with a couple pins and a plate and he said there was no way my brother could have walked with this injury. So, it couldn't have gone down the way the community home's staff say it did. It looks like was caused by a fall against something ridged, like a threshold between rooms. There's no evidence of assault.

Negligence is another matter.

Why was he so poorly supervised? How could have fallen without anybody seeing/hearing it? Why was he not checked thoroughly when the staff realized he had an injury? How could they mistake a knee for a foot injury? Why did they give story that doesn't match the medical evidence?  Why didn't they call an ambulance?

It didn't take long for that arrangement to go terribly wrong. One week. I'll admit I'm shocked. I thought if this wasn't working out we'd get warning signs instead of jumping immediately to grave injury.

If there's something not-so-bad about this, it's that all my family members should be on the same page regarding his care now. The side that pushed facility care has been proved spectacularly wrong. He will be cared for at home once he recovers, and everyone should be working together to get the funding for in-home care.

However, I'm apprehensive about his recovery. He has to be immobilized for six weeks. In a nursing home. Infected bed sores, superbugs, and pneumonia are all a threat now.

If he gets through this, I'm certain he will get the best care.

Relief

I feel such relief. What a discovery! That I think my brother is going to get better care in the community home than he did in my parents house for the last forty years. Maybe that's what I found to be a constant source of anguish, and I buried it. It was a harsh thing to see my parents were badly mismanaging his care, and were in the meantime killing themselves doing it. My mother did her best to make sure Joe didn't go into a home. I think that was a terrible mistake, though the sentiment was understandable. "Homes," institutions, were terrible places when she was growing up. 

I have a lot of writing projects going now. I have two proposals for comedy articles in the works, and if the website doesn't buy them, I'll put them up here. . I have the novel, the Carrie fan fiction, and a short erotica story. At least 40 percent of those are paid, and if they pay off, I guess I'll then call myself semi-pro, which is better than, not-pro-at-all.

I'm not doing anything tomorrow to celebrate the 4th, really. My Dad invited me over, but I declined. I'm staying away from his place as much as I can for the next two weeks. I need the rest and decompression.

Supreme court supremely screws up.

Wouldn't you know the most maddening US Supreme Court decision in my lifetime came when I was at my busiest. The Hobby Lobby decision if probably not the worst one this court made. No, that still likely goes to Citizens' United. But I haven't had a chance to read the decision and Justice Ruth Ginsberg's dissent. So, there's not much factually I can say about how it's reasoned. I can only say that the SCOTUS conservative members have the strangest notion of rights and freedom, one that I don't think the vast majority of Americans, including the Tea Partyists, are going to like.

I helped move my brother into a halfway house yesterday. I can't believe the relief I feel. It seems that most my stress about my family was due to concerns about his care. But I've seen the place, and I talked to its head. I think this will work out well for everyone involved.

It helps in another way. I won't have to put in so many hours as a caregiver. I'm going to just enjoy the windfall of time over the next two weeks.