Brother newly paraplegic after operation – currently stuck in ER with no rehab/return to home plan.
A complete nightmare… Original operation in California, he is in Nevada now.
Month ago, a major spine operation, fast forward to today, he is paraplegic as he slowly works to recover (has maybe 5% movement/feeling in legs). He was discharged from acute care and expected to return home in another state and be self-sufficient. Needless to say, that backfired horribly and he had to get taken back to his hometown hospital by ambulance because there was no way for him to care for himself at home. There was no discharge planning, no medical staff to receive him on the other end. We have filed a complaint with that hospital hoping the threat of formal complaints will push them to resume care (not holding my breath on that).
To the point, he is currently in the ER basically sitting around while we try to work out a plan. Originally, it looked like there was a path to get him back in acute care or skilled nursing to resume rehab and work on a return to home plan. Those applications to those centers have all been rejected (he is a huge, heavy guy and it sounds like they don’t want to deal with someone his size). The hospital is now starting to get impatient and trying to shove him out the door (we know not to cave, and he will stay until something is figured out).
The only viable plan as of today seems to be paying out of pocket (in the order of $15-30k/month) for in-home nursing + rehab, either as the solution or while another alternative is figured out.
He does have UHC insurance (via the Marketplace), but not much good if centers don’t accept him. He was a contract worker but no longer employed so no company benefits or the like.
I know I have only provided limited info, but if there is anything you can think of or suggest, I am all ears. If there is some paid person that would actually do some good, all for that.
Thank you.
