Meeting (at last!) Our Case Manager

    In August of 2001, i met a Case Manager.  She said it was her dream job, because she loved to talk on the phone all day.
  i knew i needed one, because i HATE to talk on the phone.
  MyGuy had been reluctant to apply for waiver services, because we can and we want to take care of our boy ourselves.
  Max was 10.  i applied that day.  The Case Manager told me we would have services in "six months, tops."
  This week Max and i met with our very own Case Manager for the first time.

Setting Up the Meeting

  When we were finally approved a couple of weeks ago and we chose our Case Management Company, a supervisor called promptly.  She said that "in a day or two" a case manager would be calling to set an appointment with us.
  i couldn't take that call at that particular instant, but, two or three phone calls back to her, we finally connected last Friday morning.  She apologized for the delay, and gave the name of the Case Manager (CM) who would contact me later in the day.
  The supervisor called as we were getting out the door for speech; the CM called just before Max came out from his session.  We set a time for this week.

Nervous: A Meeting in Our Home

i am not a housekeeper.  Endlessly cleaning house is my idea of a wasted life. 

i did this cross stitch in the 1980s.  And i still believe the motto.

  Plus, i'm a writer, an artist, and the Designated Heir of All the Valued Stuff No One Wants to Store.  All of that adds up to Not a Neatnik.
 And MyGuy is very good at a lot of things, but he's the sort of perfectionist who doesn't like to do a thing imtil he can do it, well, perfectly.
  But if you have government aid there are Standards,  Will we meet them?

Enter: Case Manager

  Case Manager (CM) arrived promptly on the dot.  Like most of the folks we've dealt with on the Waiver Trail  so far, she impressed me with her professionalism and competence, while being On Our Side.
  We began in the living room with Max.  It would've been simpler to go directly upstairs to my desk, but it's Max's life we're talking about, and, now that he has an interest in being a part of it, i wanted him to be involved as long as he cared to be.

Max helped fill out this handout, which we all worked from

Part A: Session with Max

  i think that lasted about 20 minutes, his usual attention span, but it was good for him and helped CM to get a feel for her actual client.
  There was the inevitable paperwork.  Max signed some himself, and i pointed out the sheaf of papers he would have had to read and sign if Dad and i were not his guardians.
  He said thank you.
  (Yes, that was a big deal.)
  i got out his medications and let Max tell CM which ones he takes in the evening and which in the morning, and answer as many questions as he could about his doctors.  (MyGuy does the meds, so Max honestly knows better than i which are taken when.  i just get the right PillMinder when needed, because he doesn't always initiate.)
  A couple of times, i asked if Max still wanted us in the living room, or if it was time for us to go upstairs & let him get back to his routine.  The second time, he ws ready for us to go.

Session B: Up the Stairs, and to the NittyGritty

  Here we did the real hammering out of what the plan would be.  "Does he always do that background noise?"  "Pretty much."
  i learned that we could have services through several providers.  We should have at least two goals for each interaction set up.
 i still have to make phone calls.  The next day, she sent me three pick lists for the various goals we have for Max. 
  But now i  have specific questions to ask of these potential providers now, whereas before i had no clue.  i've also got a go-to person for when i come up with questions myself, which i will.  And, though i hope we won't need it, there's a Crisis Line.
  This is gonna be good for Max.  But the deeper  i get into it, the less i see why anyone would do this if they could find any alternative.