Good Morning Indiana...

How is everyone this rainy day??? I have been freaking out and trying to figure out the holidays and my sisters living arrangements and all that fun stuff...As most of you have probably read, my sister was in a car accident on Friday night and broke her pelvis and has internal injuries... Well, they have the bleeding stopped(THANK GOD!!!) but she is in A LOT of PAIN!!! She is going to have to give up her apartment on the 31st of December so I will be doing a lot of packing. She cant even go to the apartment to see how it is being packed and leave out the stuff that should be left out. I also will have to clean out my Grandmas craft room and put it all at my house in a closet so my sisters boys have somewhere to sleep. So pretty much I have a months worth the work to do in less than a week and still have to do all the other holiday things and try to take care of my sister!!! The bad thing about her going to my mom and dads is there doors going to the bathrooms and my sisters bedroom are not wide enough to get the wheel chair in.... -I hate asking this, but do any of you guys have a potty seat(the ones that they use in the rooms at nursing homes) that you guys arent using that I can use for the next month or two. I can give it back as soon as she is done with it.  -I was also wondering if anyone has any Large or XLarge Nightgowns that are nice and comfy that you guys arent using. She is not able to pull her pants up and down(she cant even stand or sit in a wheel chair right now) but she has no PJs at all. All she slept in was scrubs, but she cant with her injuries.  My sister is just really bummed because she has been working so hard to support her family by working 2 full time jobs!! Well she dont have Short term disability so she wont get paid for the time she is off work( They are saying anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months right now) so she cant afford these things. My mom and dad are also financially struggling so they cant really help her out either.... You guys have helped me out sooo much I hate asking for anything, but I was just wondering if anyone had those things laying around that they would like to let us borrow or donate... I will be on sometime tomorrow in between TRYING to cook a ham, mac and cheese, homemade potato salad, deviled eggs, and whatever else my mom was supposed to make...  Thank you guys sooooo much... I really appreciate all of your prayers... I hope you guys all have a Merry Christmas...

Good morning all.  It has been really windy here all night, with trees falling down all around the house.  I barely slept any with branches constantly falling onto the rooftop.  Oh well, I am off today, so I will get to rest after church. Today is the girl's Christmas play.  I will take pictures and post them later today.  Molly is upset because she has to play a wise man, AND wear a beard! LOL  Thats my girly girl for you! LOL Have a great day all!

Megan, contact your local fire department and any fraternal orders, like the Moose, Elks, or American Legion.  They usually have medical devices for use and certainly don't charge much to use them.  This is an easier option than to buy any of the equipment.  Also, if you let the orders know, they may be able to help you figure a way with the doorways and maybe help widen them! It is really rough having to move all of her stuff for her, with her not being there.  It is still better to move her than to not have her here still.  I know you are very thankful for that. We all are. Our prayers are always with you thru this trying time.

Thank you so much for that info... We didnt know where to begin... We just got rid of ALL of my Grandma and Grandpas handicap stuff a few weeks ago... We have had it forever. What are you talking about the orders?? We really need the doorway in the bathroom widen because my Grandma lives out there and she cant even get her wakler in there and has fallen. Whoever built that house was not thinking... You have a Merry Christmas...

The Orders and places like the Fraternal Order of the Elks, it is just a phrase that I have always used instead of the Elks Club, the Legion or other places like that.  Is anyone in your family a member of any of these social clubs??? If so, you could have them talk to the commander on your behalf. That usually goes better that way.  Good luck with that. I am on my way out the door to church, so have a good day!

My Grandpa was in EVERY CLUB that you can imagine, but he passed away over the summer. Like I said I HATE asking for all of this, but with her being a single mom she lives paycheck to paycheck and didnt have a savings or short term disablility. My sister NEVER ask for anyone to help her, and she dont know I am asking for her now... But she still cant hold a conversation because she was on Morphine(sp****il yesterday and it is still in her system and the Vicodin is making her loopy. She never even takes asprin or tylenol so it is knocking her out... Anyways, I am blabbing like always because I am sooooo tired from not sleeping the last few days... You have a good day at church and we will figure it out... Thanks

Good Sunday morning, Indiana losers! I hope that you all have a wonder day on this Christmas Eve  Eve.  It is windy here. Bill had to go and gather out patio chairs since they were wanting to blow. He should have put them up sooner but that is Bill, the procrastinator. They should be safe now. It is snowing a bit but we aren't suppose to get much. Probably only less than a inch. Thank you God for that!  I am ready for church. We are getting there early so that I can help set up for the carry in dinner after church. I made beef cups so I have to cart that this morning too.  Megan, contact some churches in the area also. I know that my church has a medical supply closet and they loan out things like crutches, wheel chairs, potty chairs and the like. See if any of the churches around you have anything like that. I am glad that things are going better for your sister. My prayers are with all of you at this time. I better get going. Hope you all have a great day today. Stay warm and safe. I will chat later on. Bye for now.

Megan, Along with all the groups that LaChelle mentioned, also check with Red Cross, Visiting nurse Association (ask the hospital about them..and if they would be needed), and Salvation Army. Also, ask at the hospital for help. Ask your sister's RN and/or doctor. They usually know of places that can help. Afterall, we didn't know a single thing about Seton Hospital until all that happened to me. They should be able to tell you who can help out..and how.  Is your sister single? With kids? You may want to contact social services and see if she'd qualify for any kind of assistance. With my stomach stuff, pj bottoms weren't the best thing in the world for me either for quite awhile. I still prefer not to wear them. I didn't want to go buy a bunch of gowns that I wouldn't use again once I was ok. So....I wear Bill's 2X T-shirts. They go down just below my rear so they are like a mini dress on me. They are perfect for potty trips and they aren't long enough to get tangled up in the wound-vac tubing. The sleeves are loose enough that it makes getting my BP done by the visiting nurses no problem.  I woke them at Seton too and the sleeve were also loose enough that the pic lines had plenty of room without getting pinched every time I moved. I would really recommend your looking for them for your sis instead. I don't know how big your dad is or how small your sister is, but maybe he has some T's she can use. Just make sure they are baggy enough to give her plenty of room...especially for any casts/braces that she will probably come home wearing. Goodwill may be able to help you out some with gowns or T-shirts. The men on here may have some big T's that they have shrunken out of that they were just waiting for the clothing exchange to get rid of. That's another idea...come to the exchange and there will probably be t-shirts &/or gowns there! Good luck getting everything done hon. Sherri

Yep. my sister is a single mom of 2. Our dad is like a size Medium and dont wear baggy clothes. My sister is like a Lg or XL with this stuff going on. She will be staying at my mom and dads so she needs stuff to cover her a little more because my dad will be lifting her and moving her. My mom and Grandma cant lift her so I will be there during the day with her Im sure...... I offered her to come here, but she cant get up those steps and cant sleep on a couch....  About the St Vincent place they make you go on a wait list and it can take up to 2 months to get help. I will look into this becasue this is more of a special need thing. Well, thanks for all the great support and messages... Megan

Megan, I'm assuming that you are talking about St. Vincent's Seton Rehab Hospital..? It's affiliated with St. V's but it's actual name is St. Elizabeth's Seton Rehabilitation Hospital. What happens with it is your sister's doctor would need to contact them to ask them to consider your sister. They would send someone to the hospital to read over all of your sister's records. If based on them, it appears that their services could help your sister, they will run it through her insurance and see if they'd be willing to pay for it. If so, things can happen very quickly! They did their visit for me on Thursday...contacted Anthem, who gave them an answer within 45 minutes (VERY quick for an insurance company!!). I was moved to Seton the very next day. Seton would be an excellent place for your sister. They have terrific physical therapist there that will make sure she can get up by herself & walk (at least with a walker). They also have other therapists that will work with her to be able to bathe herself, brush her teeth, wash her hair, etc. They are a totally inclusive hospital in that they have the equipment to do testing, etc right there. If she needs follow-up MRI's or x-rays, they can do them right there. I don't have a doubt in my mind that she would physically qualify for their services. She will have a doctor there that will take over all of her care while she is there. There is a doctor on call 24/7.  When I went to Seton, I could only walk with a walker with a person on each side of me to help me manuever. I couldn't wash my hair. I could barely get food to my mouth. By the time I came home (2 weeks later), the only thing I still had difficult doing was going up the one step into the house. I CAN do it now..but I still have to really concentrate on it even now. I really do feel that your sister would benefit ALOT from going there. Also, there are case managers who will help get things set up to make the transition home easier too. Sherri