As I sit at my wife’s bedside, I wonder: Why did God allow this terrible disease called Alzheimer’s to attack my wife’s brain? Why did he cause her many talents to desert her? Why did he cause her to lose her memory, her focus ability and her love of life? Why, why, why?
We’re both living in the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer. A requirement of this home is that 75% of its residents are veterans. My wife and I are both veterans. We moved in this past June. I enjoy my room in the independent living area, while my wife resides in the Alzheimer’s Homestead area.
With the financial help from the Medicaid program and the Veteran’s Administration, I am able to pay the care costs for my wife. The MetLife long-term care insurance also helps with her care cost. At this time, I shoulder the Pioneer Home costs of my room. The monthly costs for both my wife and myself are approximately $1,800. My retirement income is extremely limited, but with our social security income and my pension, I am able to pay the Pioneer Home our monthly bill.
My next “why” pertains to the proposal made by Clinton Lasley, director of the division overseeing the Pioneer Homes in Alaska. Why does he propose raising our monthly rent and care costs by as much as 140%? Why should we be stuck with huge increases that should have been made by past administrators of the Pioneers Home? Why should these proposed increases, if they happen, force me to find a new home for my diseased wife and myself that I can afford?
The “why” questions about my wife’s condition cannot be answered, but those about the costs of our Pioneer Home in Palmer can only be answered by the politicians down in Juneau, who are determining the future of the residents of the statewide Pioneer Homes. Let’s hope their decision will allow my wife and I to remain in Palmer. I’m 83 and my wife is 80, and I hope we will not be forced to leave Alaska to find greener pastures for end-of-life living.
— Bill Brokaw
Palmer
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