Dear Friends and Allies,
First, I want to tell you that after we learned that the stroke rehab center in Santa Fe couldn’t start Paul on therapy for 5-6 weeks, we were lucky to find an even better solution. We so appreciate the hundreds of notes from all of you, which included many great suggestions and offers of help. We are so grateful to have this wonderful network of friends and allies!
We want to give a special thank-you to Peter Smith, President of the Board at KSFR where Paul airs his radio show on Saturday mornings at 8:30. Peter sent us a note with info from another KSFR Board member, Helen Molanphy, with a recommendation for Ambercare, which provides in-home nursing, rehab, and other services in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. With a quick referral from Paul’s primary care physician, Ambercare was able to send someone to our house the very next day. Wow! We were/are impressed. Thank you Peter and Helen!
Paul received 3 in-home assessments in the last 5 days from Speech/Cognitive Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy. He will receive regular therapy at home for at least the next 4 weeks. And it’s fully covered by Medicare! So, please, if you know anyone who needs in-home care, call Ambercare today. I’m sorry to sound like an advertisement, but this has made our lives so much easier, and Paul didn’t have to wait to get the care he needs.
How is it that these things have to happen somewhat randomly — because someone Paul knows at KSFR knows someone else who passed along this info? What happens to people who don’t have a similar social circle or who don’t know they deserve something more? We are lucky and privileged to have a wide circle of friends and supporters and to have the resources and wherewithal to navigate the healthcare system. Too many people in this state and country are needlessly suffering because they don’t have these privileges. It’s cruel and unnecessary. Medicare for All remains near the top of our list of issues to keep fighting for!
We expect Paul to be nearly back to full functioning in another month or so. Hooray! In the meantime, though he gives it a good try every single day, it is still very challenging for Paul to type, to process complex information, and to develop and retain his thoughts long enough to write a blog. Even though he is eager to get back to it, the Speech/Cognitive Therapist advised him to not take on too much too soon. But there is something important coming up in a few days, so we are working together to create a blog to pass along the info you need to participate.
As many of you know, the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) is scheduled to hear arguments for and against the Avangrid/PNM merger beginning Monday, Aug. 9 at 9 a.m. You may register to give oral comment during the hearing or you may submit written comment. Oral comments are limited to three minutes. At this point we have no info on word limit for written comment, but it’s best to keep it concise.
To give oral comment at the hearing, you must register in advance by emailing Ana.Kippenbrock@state.nm.us before 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 9. New Energy Economy advises you to include this subject line: “20-00222-UT public comment.” NEE also recommends that your email should say: “I ________________(YOUR NAME), would like to give public comment in NM PRC Case No. 20-00222-UT. Please provide a Zoom link so that I can participate. Thank you.”
Written comments may be submitted prior to the Commission’s final action in the case by sending an email to prc.records@state.nm.us. Please send your written comments prior to Weds., Aug. 11 because we don’t know how long the hearing will last. The PRC’s formal evidentiary hearing begins Weds., Aug. 11, at 9:00 a.m., and continues thereafter as necessary. Public oral comment will not be taken during the evidentiary hearings. The hearing will be streamed live on YouTube, and a link to the livestream will be posted on the PRC Public Hearings Page several minutes before the start of each day of the hearing.
On Friday or Saturday this week, we will publish a blog that summarizes the compelling evidence that shows this merger is a very bad idea. You can use this info to develop your oral and/or written comments against the merger. In the meantime, if you want to make an oral comment at the Monday hearing, please register per the instructions above. You can craft your oral comments once you read the upcoming blog. Likewise, if you plan to submit written comments, the blog will provide a number of persuasive points for you to choose from.
Please reply here with any comments or questions. We’ll get that blog out to you as soon as we can!
In gratitude, appreciation, and hope,
Roxanne
Categories: Uncategorized
So great to hear about how Paul is doing. Thank you, Roxanne, for keeping the wheels turning in the meantime.
Elizabeth Dwyer
So glad to hear that Paul is recovering nicely. What a blessing. Craig
Thank you so much for the update on Paul’s health and experience with the healthcare system. I will make a mental note about Ambercare. Thank you for sharing that information as well. Roxanne and Paul, you are in my thoughts and my heart. I’m sending you both healing energy and loving thoughts, my friends.
Roxanne, your comment about social networks providing info that would be better coming from the medical community is too accurate. And this in the Information Age. Where is a medical data bank of such services?
Of course, your solution operates in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Ah, the joys of rural medicine.
That said, I give thanks that the gap didn’t block you two.
Such good news. You know, in the olden days there were discharge planners at the hospitals that would coordinate aftercare with the family. Sadly, that has become a thing of the past. All the best to you both.
Janet
I was wondering about that. I was present when my mother always had a discharge planner when she was seen at Christus St. Vincent’s, and that was in 2014-2015. Has that service been eliminated?
Good news. Roxanne, take care of yourself too.
All the best for a full recovery.
‘Hasten…slowly’. (Said by Swami Chinmayananda, who had multiple bypass heart surgery and went on to teach years more)
Glad for the update. Such good news. Keep on truckin’ Paul!
“Thank you” has never been quite descriptive enough to offer for Retake, Paul, and Roxanne. But a heartfelt “THANK YOU” for Paul’s progress, Roxanne’s care, her expertise in all-things-Retake – and friends sharing and caring to get the right help at the right time.
Roxanne,
What a gracious, yet incisive and informative message you have sent us about Paul’s situation! It is so good to know that he has been receiving the best of care, despite the random process that provided you with the necessary information about the sources of care. Yep, we need Medicare for All! And thanks for keeping us posted on the Avangrid/PNM merger.
Best regards to you and Paul.
Yes “Hasten…slowly.” You two are loved.
So glad Paul found someone to help more immediately. 5-6 weeks! Ridiculous! By then who knows how things might have been…
I recently had a similar experience. I walked all the way down into Carlsbad Caverns, kind of fast because I needed the restroom It took 2.5 hours. When I left I had a sore hip, which I ignored for 2 weeks and did my regular routine exercises. Two weeks later, it became so painful I stopped doing the exercise and called my medical care person to set up an appointment. We decided that physical therapy was the best option. The PT felt I had bursitis. (For anyone who doesn’t know what that is: there are little gelatinous sacs called bursa between our bone and muscle that protect the muscle from being scraped by the bone. The bursa can become inflamed.) They sent my referral to one close to my house. That center did not accept Medicare Advantage. Then I called another place I had gone before for occupational therapy. They accepted my insurance, but wouldn’t be able to see me until August 12. My reaction was: I’ll die from pain before then. I couldn’t stand up or walk. Then I called a second one that told me August 30. Finally I called AllCare next to Lowe’s and I am completing my 5th week of therapy.
Best wishes and healing energy to Paul.