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Went to visit Mother this morning. We had a good visit. It was time for her 2006 financial update, so I had a spreadsheet all prepared. (Are you buying this?) Anyway, I put her mind to rest by pointing out that she has enough resources to stay at Concord Place for 15 more years, or her 112th birthday, whichever comes first. She's still commenting on how much she dislikes the food - there's really nothing to be done about that.

Dick was working at the Agency - he was super busy. He phoned 21 different people concerning their prescription coverage (Medicare Part D for Difficult). While he was doing that, 24 more calls came in to the front desk. The Agency is being swamped with phone calls from unhappy elders who are finding that their prescriptions are not covered. I'm afraid it's going to take the insurance companies/government quite a while to get everything up and running, and in the meantime, people are left with no help because their discount cards are defunct as of Jan. 1, and some insurances cut off then as well. It's a horrible situation.

After visiting Mom, I dropped in on Dick and convinced him to go out to lunch with me. We agreed to meet in an hour at the Hard Luck Cafe. (Appropriate name for a MMAP volunteer's restaurant!) I went downtown for an hour and we had a great lunch.

Just after arriving home, I got a call from Betsy at Concord Place. Mother had fallen in the bathroom, hit her head, broke her glasses, and cut her eye lid and eyebrow area. She's fine - I went right back up there - a nurse came from Bortz and said Mom didn't need stitches or anything. Mom refused to call the Doctor - she feels OK - just a little shaken.

I took the broken eyeglass frame to the Cedar Run Eye Center, and they were not busy, so Mom has new glasses already. Same lenses in a pretty new frame. She thought it was magic that she could get new glasses so quickly! Betty still works at the Eye Center, and she always asks about Lue's kids, so I told her about Barb. I think Betty's going to write Barb a note.

Filled up the Explorer - almost need to take out a second mortgage to fill 'er up these days. Went through the car wash, and to Jiffy Lube. The car looks terrific.

UPDATED @ 4 MINUTES AFTER MIDNIGHT:
Concord called at 9:15 p.m. to say that Mother had fallen again. The official opinion of the staff was to call 911 and go to Munson ER to get an XRay. I said I would meet them up there. Dick and I beat the ambulance to the hospital by about 15 minutes. Mother looks like a prizefighter after 15 rounds. The cuts around her eye are still bleeding, she has a cut on the side of her nose also (from the broken frames). She has bitten the tip of her tongue, and her tongue is bruised.

The XRay was negative - nothing is broken. She was given a tetanus shot. She stood with assistance to see if she could bear weight, and then she was discharged back to Concord. It was two hours and forty five minutes from start to finish. She claims to feel fine - "A little wobbly" but no pain. I'm sure she'll be very sore in the morning.