Sunday, December 22, 2013

Mary and Francis Leuschner - Massachusetts Victims

I am an only child, adopted by my parents when I was an infant. I am also the only living heir to my parents’ modest estate, their home in Dedham, Massachusetts. I was living in Indiana when my Mom asked me to please come home. Both of my parents needed help and in November, 2012, I moved back home.

Moving back home was bittersweet; my childhood home held many pleasant and some unpleasant memories. My parents needed help. The house needed some heavy cleaning and a number of repairs. Mom wanted to pay down their debts and make provisions for home care for herself and my Dad in the event it ever became necessary.

One night in February I awoke to the dogs barking and my father yelling for help. I ran to my father and found him in the bathroom with my mother. She had hit her head on something and was bleeding, but still conscious. I immediately called 911. The ambulance arrived and asked me if there was a preferred hospital; I immediately told them Beth Israel in Needham, MA. However, they took her instead to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in downtown Boston.

While the paramedics were there, one of them told me that because of the condition of the house, he had to report it to the Board of Health. While it was not in the best condition, the problem was the clutter, which I had been working on since I got home. I was only worried about my Mom at that moment and told him to just do what he had to do.


Once we got to the hospital, the doctor told us that Mom had taken a nasty fall and needed a few stitches. He wanted to keep her there for a few days for observation. He also mentioned that she might be suffering from dementia, but that it could be temporary because of the blood on her brain which was a result of the injury to the top of her head.


A few days later, Dr. Caliath called me and advised me that I needed to convince my mother to go to a rehab in order to get physical therapy to regain her strength. Because I was concerned about the injury to her head, I agreed that this might be the best move for her.  After much discussion and arguments from my mother as to why she did not need to go to a rehab, she finally agreed.

March 1, 2013 started off like any other day. My Dad and I got up, had breakfast, took care of the dogs and got ready to go visit my mother at the nursing home. The visit went well. For some reason Mom was getting speech therapy, which she did not need, as well as physical therapy. My Dad visited her daily and together they walked around the premises which gave her a fair amount of daily exercise. Before we left, I stopped at the nurses’ station to find out when Mom would be going home but as usual, I was unable to get an answer.

A caseworker from Adult Protective Services, Tara Lemieux and the social worker Kaohna approached me and said we needed to have a meeting. My Dad and I went with her to her office. Once we were all seated, she proceeded to tell me that Mom was not going home and they were going to apply for Medicaid for her continued care. I was in tears and proceeded to tell her that everything was being done at home to provide for her care. My father then spoke up and said “I just want my wife home.” Tara said to my father “You, sir, cannot make decisions for yourself.”

Full Profile and Source:
NASGA - Mary and Francis Leuschner, Massachusetts Victims

13 comments:

Simon said...

Another family torn apart. Will it ever end?

Barbara said...

The problem here is she didn't know her power at the time nor her rights, so they quickly swept in.

Anonymous said...

I'm so very sorry.

hone said...

APS is like a double edged sword. They can do such good work and they can also wrongfully make ones life absolutely miserable.

When APS is bad, there is no greater foe.

Mary said...

It was all planned to take your Mom and then your Dad and get all they had. I am sorry that you are an only child and had to face this alone. Don't give up. Never give up.

Kay said...

I'm sorry. I've been there and know how you feel. It's our not only our privilege to take care of our parents when they get old and need a little help, but it's also our duty. And to be shoved aside in favor of a stranger who knows nothing about our parents is as wrong as wrong can be. I agree with Mary. Don't give up.

BendigoBanksters said...

When will this nightmare ever stop, I was just talking with my wife about her Mother and Step-Dad this morning, this one has hit me hard as my wife also was adopted.

I hope that her Mother is not Jewish as I see the daughters request for her Mother to be taken to the Beth Israel Hospital in Needham, as almost a denial by the Ambulance Paramedic of the Mothers religious rights or a complete disregard for her religion if she is Jewish..!!!

This Tara's comment ticks me off “You, sir, cannot make decisions for yourself” and I won't say what mine or my Late Brother Paul's reaction would have been if she said that to our Father back in 90's when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's .

Who the hell died and made this Tara Judge, Jury and Lord High Executioner..???

StandUp said...

It's important that you roll up your sleeves and get busy being proactive in your case in a positive manner. Learn the law. And then seek legal tools that will help.

PROUD NASGA ILLINOIS MEMBER said...

C R I M I N A L no other word to describe the racket of churning people, good innocent people into products to feed the probate machine big business folks no caring here it's all about profit and / or job security.

Be ready Boomers - we're next.

JoAnne Marie Denison said...

You might want to check out your local laws. Illinois, as it turns out, has a law that says that what the state is alleging is called "self neglect", that is, a home is dirty or in need of repairs the senior did not make. The good news is, these laws also provide that the state is SUPPOSED to help the senior clean up the home, repair it, provide for temporary housing (does not need to be a nursing home--many states do not require the senior to be forced to live in a nursing home if they don't want to), and then be returned to the home when it is safe.
You will have to kick up a stink to get the state to enforce it's own laws, I'm afraid. BUT if you kick up a stink, and others do it as well, these "tied in" agencies won't end up being so powerful. My heart and prayers are with you.

JoAnne Marie Denison said...

You might want to check out your local laws. Illinois, as it turns out, has a law that says that what the state is alleging is called "self neglect", that is, a home is dirty or in need of repairs the senior did not make. The good news is, these laws also provide that the state is SUPPOSED to help the senior clean up the home, repair it, provide for temporary housing (does not need to be a nursing home--many states do not require the senior to be forced to live in a nursing home if they don't want to), and then be returned to the home when it is safe.
You will have to kick up a stink to get the state to enforce it's own laws, I'm afraid. BUT if you kick up a stink, and others do it as well, these "tied in" agencies won't end up being so powerful. My heart and prayers are with you.

Unknown said...

I am still looking everywhere, luckily I am back to work and have several things that I am getting rid of on craigslist so it will clear out a lot of the furniture that is not needed. then I only have some smaller things to do like remove the wall paper and paint the walls and fix two windows or basically replace the glass and then wash the windows and go through and mop all of the floors completely cause they are just dirty from the years of not being mopped but other than that, I will just have to put up the bars in the bathroom and then the house will be done. if I could find a way to carpet the house I would and if I could find anyone here in Massachusetts that has a truck to pick up a couch and whatever else that would be good for making it look all the better. but once it is done then I will be taking the pictures and proving them all wrong

me llamo es susana gallagher said...

let me distill my scenerio- norfolk probate court assigned me a lawyer named george rodriguez of 21 McGrath highway quincy mass I just tripped upon your experience with
him --- should I be concerned . His demeanor to me as I hand delivered his appointment to represent my mom in an hearing re: my brother as HCP--- was rather odd. It was similar to your experince, for example curt dismissive and no response.

In the meantime I picketed the memory lockdown called benchmark atrium this weekend and educated the public regarding the militaristic gestapo tactics e.g coaching m y brother through a restraining order {by which I am told that Mr. Arthur Tobin's
courthouse administers the highest # in the whole state. The feedback was absolutely
invigorating for me. welcoming a RSVP!!!