Victory in Vidor

So... I took a nice long break from posting anything really meaningful. :-) It's emotionally draining sometimes to do this blog, but I love doing it for many reasons. This blog has probably been one of the most surprising things I make time to do. I apologize to all those who have done something for us, but haven't received a thank you note. I have a long list, don't worry, it will come one day. I even managed to remember to buy stamps at the grocery store so I'm on my way.

I haven't been lounging poolside during this brief blog break. Some of you might remember my previous post on Medicaid. It's quite a process to get signed up and it's outlined in the "Things I Never Thought I'd Say" post, linked above, so I won't recap the whole process, but the last big step was completed this weekend - an overnight trip to a nursing home.

Don't ask why or how, just go with me on it. Let me add that some families have to do a 30 DAY stay, not just a 24 HOUR. I don't know if we could have managed that ugly experience.

So, there are only like five or eight nursing homes in the state of Texas that have a room set aside for children in this MDCP program. The closest one to Houston is Pasadena. They were booked till May. So, next closest - the big bustling town of Vidor, Texas, located just east of Beaumont. They had plenty of openings.

So, Will and I loaded up on Sunday afternoon, stopped for dinner in Beaumont - Vidor only has fast food - then headed on to check in and have somewhat an out of body experience. The people there were amazing, nice and very sweet. I can't say enough great things about their team. Very professional and efficient.

We said hello to a couple of the residents, those that were able to move around, and Will thought that was great. We did a bunch of paper work, did blood pressure and an overall body check and went to bed. A few hours later we hightailed it out of town, ate breakfast at McDonalds with all three of the Vidor Policemen and some pimply high school kids.

So all that sounds pretty normal. Here are some of the odd parts:
-The home is located in a neighborhood; imagine leaving for work and driving past the nursing home every day. It kind of creeped me out. There is a day care right across the street. "Kidz R Kidz"
-About 10:30 p.m. the night nurses knocked loudly and came in to introduce themselves. Mind you, Will and I are both asleep mashed up together on a twin bed, that creaked. Will sat up quicker than I've ever seen him do before, gave them a disgusted look and fell back in bed.
-The nurse couldn't figure out how to do the temp scan on the forehead. I asked her if she wanted me to try and she said sure. So I did it the same way she did, and it worked. ???
-There was loud music playing in the hall till about 4 a.m. ?? Couldn't tell if it was the residents or the nurses or a TV. I thought I was back in a college dorm.
-When you came into the building there was a fake fireplace with a "fire" and four leather LaZBoys with two leather couches. Modern in look. Then the rest of the place was like something out of the 1940s. I really wanted to take a picture, but I didn't want to be rude.
-Will thought the bird feeder out front was a fun new toy - that's not really weird, just kind of cute.

Anyways, overall, it was fine. I won't go into details on all the moaning, yelling and disturbing scenes as we passed the cafeteria during breakfast. Suffice to say, we checked the box.

I do want to send a special shout out to a wonderful lady, you know who you are. Thank you so much for trying to help us pull some strings with your contacts in Bellville and Austin to avoid this. We really, really appreciate it and one day, you'll get a thank you card :-)

Here are a few pictures from the 12 hour visit to, what I told Will, was called a hotel...

They really tried to make the room kid friendly with a cute lamp, rug and art on the wall.

Notice the small bag next to the bed. I literally only packed Will some clothes and my contact solution and toothbrush.

No comment.

Saying Cheese before bedtime

Just turned off the ipad (the best money I've ever spent).

I called our MDCP case manager on the way back and he confirmed later on Monday that now we're just waiting for our ID number! The state has 45 days to respond with it, but Roderic said it usually only takes three weeks.

Let's assume we get an ID number by Nov. 1. If that's the case, this has been an amazingly quick process. Four months. That's insane! Of course, we've made this a big priority to get finished and Roderic our case worker is remarkably efficient. I really like him, good guy. After just paying thousands of dollars in medical bills (and that's with insurance) I'm just so relieved this is almost done, just in time for cold and flu season.

I just proofed my post and had to roll my eyes at myself. When did I get so excited about getting a government hand out?

Happy Tuesday! Who is loving this cooler weather!?!?