This Is A Message To All On DU That Are Below The Age Of 55......

[Grammy23]

64. I so identify with what you said

When I was 18 my father died suddenly. My Mother was going to school to become an RN. The Social Security that she received for me and my younger sister helped keep us afloat until we were out of the house. I was eligible to continue receiving the payments because I was in college. My mother eventually finished school and went to work (late in life) for the Veteran's Administration.

When she retired (had to retire due to medical issues) she had a small annuity from her 8 years of working at the VA. She was also able to collect Social Security based on my father's work records since hers was much smaller. Those two things and the fact that she was able to keep her BCBS health insurance as a supplement to her Medicare kept her out of poverty. She got good health care and had enough money to keep her fed, clothed and housed for many years.

After she was very old (late 80s) she developed dementia (probably Alzheimer's) as happens to many of us as we age. She lived in a group type home run by her church and that worked alright until my sister died suddenly and was no longer available to help her with doctor visits, etc. So she came to live with me and my husband. We kept her with us for 3 years until we literally could not do it anymore. She was too sick and we couldn't physically meet the demand any more. For a short time we had home health, paid for by her Medicare and BCBS. Soon after that she got Hospice care, also paid for by her insurance and Medicare. Finally, at the point where we couldn't keep her at home any more, we had to place her into a nursing home. The plan was that she would go in for the allocated number of days that her Medicare would cover (20 days I believe). Then she would be switched over to Medicaid because she didn't have long term care insurance----like the vast majority of us. She died two days after she entered the nursing home so the switch from Medicare to Medicaid was not necessary.

The important thing to know is that all of the help she received over the years were due to what she and my father (and their employers) paid into the system. I cannot imagine what we'd have done if those things had not been in place for her and that hopefully will be in place for me and my husband if and when the need arises. (We become eligible for Medicare next year and are currently getting our Social Security.)

It grieves me no end to read between the lines and see what Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney intend to do to these important safety nets. I am having a hard time convincing my 43 year old son that these things matter. He listens to the rhetoric of the politicians and the "authorities" at his church and is convinced that these programs need to be "saved". He has no idea that those are CODE words for DESTROYED. All to benefit the ruling elites.