I thought I was being very very very careful on the stairs at my nephew's
home in Seattle, where I stayed several months last spring. All the bedrooms,
including mine, upstairs. But one night I was trying to carry a recipe book
downstairs for his grandaughter, and I fell down the stairs and broke my
kneecap. thus started a grim lesson in what happens if one has stairs.
Now, I won't go into places with a full flight of steep stairs. I do negotiate
several broad stairs in my son's home, but I have to hang onto the wall or
have a grandchild help, as it is very dangerous. I calculate every step.

My knee healed very well and is now the least of my health woes. But
the "Medicare" nightmare concerning the break was incredibly bad.

The hospital where I was taken by 911 (I could not walk at all) said
Medicare would NOT cover a broken kneecap. Since I could not return
to the house, I was told to go to a motel and order pizza (I could not
use the bathroom unaided either). But they kept me overnight because
they couldn't find the exact type of brace they needed for my knee, and
then they kept me on "Observation" for four days so that I would not be
eligible for a Medicare nursing home (yes, they did this literally, as far as
I know). I was hardly on Observation, as I was given quite a lot of supervision
of using a walker, getting out of bed, getting onto the commode, etc. But I
cried a lot because of the fear that I would not have enough money to pay
myself for a nursing home for the several months projected that it would take
to heal. So, because I cried, they put me on suicide watch and had a psychiatrist
come to interview me, with three grim interns. I told him I was not suicidal,
just depressed about my quandry. He seemed interested that I had an MS dx,
but also seemed to squelch the thoughts which arose because of that.

So I had to go to an Assisted Living place where it was not in their job description
to help me use the toilet even though I had a cast foot to hip (my leg was being
set in this way, without surgery, and that worked very well). I finally had to
urinate standing up, but then I did get a commode which I ordered myself which
I could use. The Occupational Therapist was NO help, but charged thousands of
dollars for coming out and making out papers. finally I had a TIA, and was sent
to a different hospital, where they said "Of course you qualify for Medicare nursing
home with a broken leg and cast from foot to hip". So they sent me, after six weeks
without, to a good nursing home, where I was for five weeks and had rehab. And
then had to go to another assisted living place until I was able to go home.

The hospital which denied me nursing home care was one with a very high
reputation, as was the hospital which found me a good nursing home later.
This shows how different interpretations of the laws can be.

I have neuropathy in my feet, which has become worse since I got Polycythemia
Vera 5 years ago, so that is one reason why my feet are numb and dangerous.
But I exercise them daily and use very good foot care on them. The Interferon
I am taking for PV increases the neuropathy pain, although I am told that if I
get my platelets down I may have less pain than before. None of this was
considered at all by the hospital which denied nursing home care.

My home is wheelchair accessible because my late husband was in a wheelchair.
I use his chair when my feet hurt too much, and thank God for both the house
and the wheelchair, now needed by me. I realize that elder care is very expensive,
$8000 to $13000 in Seattle in a nursing home, and that our gov't may indeed
go bankrupt over this. So I know it's a huge problem for our country as well
as for us.