Dave119

My mom is not the Veteran. My late father served. My mom lives with my wife, kids and myself. Our home is a 2 story home. My mom has a very difficult time with stairs. She has a back surgery a few years ago, which helped, but she still struggles. We had stair lifts put in. But, even with the lifts, I worry. She lost all the hearing in one of her ears a few years back due to a virus and now suffers from bad balance issues and has had falls (no major injuries, thankfully). She now walks only with the use of a cain. She has moderate to severe COPD, so she also struggles with that condition. There is no option to use a room on the first floor as a bedroom. We have kids, so it is a full house. The reason we were considering assisted living, is that aside from us selling our current home and buying a new one (something we are considering), the house is not a great set up for her. Single floor living would be much better. Also, although she can still handle many things, I don't think living by herself in a typical apartment would be wise at this point. I don't think she should live alone, so the option of moving her into an apartment of her own by herself isnt a good on in my opinion. In my area, there are places that are kind of in between living by yourself, but not yet a nursing home. I have to note, despite this, her doctor thinks she doesn't quite meet the requirements listed in the application. I disagree and feel it is absurd due to her age and balance issues. That is why we haven't applied yet. We are in limbo. A second opinion would probably be good idea.

For the aid and attendance, don't we need a sign off from her doctor that she cant perform the above tasks? I help her out in her routine, but her primary care doctor does not believe she meets the aid and attendance requirements at this time. Are you reccomending we apply without any confirmation from her doctor? I assumed we needed his sign off.

lol, I wish we had that kind of cash. The ChampVA is something we are going to apply for. The Aid and Attendance has been complicated because my moms Primary Care is not sure she meets the requirements under the activities. I help her a lot, but she is able to still go to the bathroom and shower and stuff by her self.

Our attorney said VA works in mysterious ways and he won't hazzard a guess right now as we are only a couple months into the appeal. My mom is still sharp mentally, but does have her issues with mobility and some signifigant health issues. We also are thinking about the Aid and Attendance benefit and ChampVA. She has Fed Blue from her federal retirement so we are trying to figure out if she should switch to ChampVa to save on the Blue Cross premiums. The Blue Cross insurance is pretty good. You raise a good point on the possibility of the state seizing any money. Unfortunately, I think the horse is out of the barn on that issue. My mom learned of these benefits too late for any real medicaid planning. But, I think the VA benefits will help us provide top care for her until she needs nursing home care, if she ever does. Her mother made it to 90 and passed away just prior to being placed in a nursing home. My mom never wants to be in one.

In my mom's case, she was approved for DIC. So, she is recieving that now, which is great. The question is on the effective date. It is a very complicated case. We actually have an attorney now working the case. So, I know it was advanced on the docket. Attorney says you never know on time lines as VA can act in mysterious ways. That said, I thought I would start this conversation to not only see if anyone had any experiences in these advancements, but also to let everyone know what happens with my moms case and how long it takes to get there one way or the other. I was talking with a friend of mine who said the advancement really didn't make much of a difference and it will be a few years. That was based on his fathers experiences some time ago.

Hi everyone, what a great forum. Quick question. I see the timelines for direct appeals can take a few years. My mom is in her mid 80s and filed a direct appeal a few months ago. From what I know, she was advanced on the docket due to her old age. Does that typically make much of a difference in the time it takes to make it to a judge? Dad passed away a long time ago and I am her only kid, so helping her as much as possible. But, a decision in her favor could help her with assisted living or other arrangements down the line. I know there are a ton of factors, but at her age, 1-2 years vs 5 years is a lot. Just wondering if anyone had a similar experience? Thanks so much!!