The proof that it was the right time, was right in front of my eyes: not only could she barely walk, but she had lost 25 lbs. Even her two bassetts were looking slim and trim!!! Since everyone had been a bit overweight two months earlier, the present status was not dramatic. The how-it-had-happened definitely was though. I was glad that I was moving in.
The walking canes were an issue. The two she had were left over from a hip replacement years earlier, and neither at the appropriate height since she has really shrunk with age (she is 88). Even though walking canes are not that expensive, I wanted to check out Medicare, to start getting a feel for what is covered for senior supplies since things are not really going to improve. The site is quite easy to use, you don't need an ID number, just type in the state you are in and scroll down to the medical equipment you need, in this case "Canes and Crutches". The information though, is pretty much limited to yes/no and skips many of the restrictions. See below:
Walking canes (and crutches) ARE covered by Medicare (although for some reason, the white canes for the blind are not). BUT, only one cane is offered and it has to last you 5 years. The metal ones are nice with funky colors which make them easy to see and recognize (in a reunion of seniors, for example). They are also easy to adjust for "shrinkage". Unfortunately for us, my mother, in her present state of incipient dementia, would forget where she had left her canes and even that she actually used walking canes at all. Sometimes too, she used only one, so that the pair would get separated.
In those days, just getting my mother to leave the house was a major effort so that having to run around the house looking for her canes at the last minute was not really fun. I finally just went to the nearest Dollar store where they have canes for the proverbial dollar. I think they are bamboo and it was easy to saw them down to the appropriate height. The rubber tips wear down fairly quickly but I was able to replace them easily at Walmart which does have its own line of moderately priced canes. I also later found them on Amazon which was handy since it isn't always easy to go out shopping. We now have a half a dozen of these canes lurking around the house. Unfortunately, her physical health has deteriorated, so she is down to using a walker which I will talk about later.
