Case Study : Candace
Candace lived in Chicago, was married with one young daughter, and worked fulltime as a research specialist for a university. Her 76-year-old father lived with a companion in Southern California and his health was declining significantly.
She needed to learn about his benefits and options in California so she could help him through his medical problems, while she stayed in Chicago.
During her first trip to California, we had a one-hour consultation to educate her on the issues she and her father would be dealing with. She bought a Parent Profiler, so she would have her father's critical information close at hand. We established a plan for her to oversee her father's medical care, his day-to-day needs and his interaction with his HMO. We continued assisting her on an as-needed basis for several months.
Just days before a scheduled surgery, her father suffered a massive heart attack and was near death.
She called Aging Solutions from the hospital to report that her father had not been fed in 24 hours, and that doctors refused to do anything more for him. Based on our extensive experience with HMOs, it was clear that the HMO had given up on him and was prepared simply to let him die. We established an aggressive plan for her implement immediately, which included challenging the HMO's actions. Once she followed the plan, things changed completely. Just three weeks after being near death, her father was well enough to fly to Chicago and to begin living independently, with a some assistance, and to be able to have his whole family nearby.
Candace was referred to Aging Solutions through her research on the Internet. We provided a total of 4 hours of assistance over a period of 7 months.