Evil, Evil people.

Pretty much all week I've been on the phone. Enough time has not passed for me forget what this was like before, so it all seems to blend together into one long phone call with the same idiotic person.
I had been talking to this woman, Robin, at CEPS, the people who will thankfully be taking charge of handling my Dad's bills now...they are "the payee" now. Basically, my Dad's Social Security check will be deposited into their account and they will pay my Dad's bills from that. Did I already say THANK GOD? But back to Robin. She seemed very well-meaning and nice. She seemed to understand that though I am not in charge of *everything* in my Dad's life now, I am still extremely concerned about his welfare and want him in a place that is equipped to handle him and treat him well. She seemed to get that I felt like a failure for not being able to do it myself.
I was clearly delusional.
Robin informs me today that Villa, the place Whackerman wants to send my Dad, is ready to take him.
She says that I need to bring her a check for transporting my Dad from the VA in Menlo Park to Villa...oh, and about $600-700 on top of that for the cost of the rest of the month at Villa....TODAY. I didn't really have that time today, and I was more than a little concerned that suddenly this place is going to take him when they told me they couldn't handle someone like my Dad, but I also did not have time today to deal with this or even the thought of it. I told her I would make it there in the next couple of hours.
On my way there, I got that feeling. I decided to go to this Villa place to check it out and ask when I could bring my Dad's things (I have all his clothes, etc.)...and I also wanted to talk to that Lourdie woman again to see just why and what changed their minds into taking him.
The street scared me. Hellhole. Ghetto. Random tweaky, dirty people walking the street, a street paved badly and with no sidewalks...just dirt and dumpsters in front yards. It was right off the freeway.
I pull into the crushed granite driveway and walk up to the metal screen that doesn't shut. The door was barely on its hinges. I walk in. I see no one. I walk around inside unnoticed. There is no alarm, no wander guard system, no locked doors. I go in farther and a man walks in from a patio where I see a twitching woman smoking. The man is shaky and literally grunts at me. I turn around and walk the length of the building, still unnoticed. I see another man walking in, rubbing his hand furiously together, not unlike what the character does in "Slingblade". The place smells like stale smoke, urine, and musty...something. The floor is all jacked-up and uneven...JUST perfect for someone with balance and falling issues. Great. I keep wandering until I am beyond annoyed. I never found anyone that "worked there".
Instead of following my route to CEPS to deliver the check, I went home. I felt utterly sick and irate. Hubby informs me that Robin had called. Oh, and there's a message from Laurie Ackerman, saying that my Dad is being placed at Villa because they were "willing to give it a try"....and that she hopes that I am in contact with Robin because she DESPERATELY needs the funds to transport my Dad and for care and board. She's trying to sound ALLLLL concerned and as if she's someone who gives a rats ass about anyone but herself. I'm NOT buying it. I know her better than that.
I am SO pissed.
I call Robin and immediately say I'm sorry that I am probably going to be seen as difficult...but that Villa is completely inappropriate for my Dad because of the unlocked doors, etc....uh, maybe the fact that he could escape, walk down the street and end up on the FREEWAY?
Nice Robin turns into not-so-nice Robin.
She acts like I am personally attacking her, as if me saying this place is not right for my Dad is telling her to fuck off. She doesn't want to deal with me anymore. She gives me the number of someone with "Patients Rights" and I call them. From what Theresa with Patients Rights says, she seems to understand what I am trying to get at: that I am the only one actually looking out for what my Dad really needs and am the only one being realistic with what and who he is and what that means for someone caring for him. I am beyond done fooling myself into thinking my Dad can be peaceful and cooperative. I know that he has his moments, but for the most part, he needs, needs, needs, and he is not nice about it. He screams, he demands, he expects someone at his side within milliseconds of his call for help, or ELSE. Even Dr. Fenn told me last week that my Dad yells and screams curse words and racial slurs even when unprovoked...so WHY people like Laurie Ackerman are trying to sugar coat the truth is beyond me. It creates an unsafe environment for my Dad AND the people caring for him. Hell, even when you ARE informed about what he may do, it's not easy to deal with.
Anyway, Theresa refers me to a few more people...Marilyn Ricketts with the County Conservator whom I've already spoken to before, a woman who runs a place called Las Palmas (they have a wanderguard system), the Social Worker at the Modesto VA, and a nurse who helps handle people like my Dad...she is also through the Modesto VA.
I left messages with everyone, but did get a hold of Linda at Las Palmas. She was very candid with me about what I should do and whether her place would be okay for my Dad. I will go look at it tomorrow.
I ran some errands and came back to see yet another message from Laurie Ackerman, Social Worker from HELL. To sum up what she said, hoo boy...and don't forget to add the cheap-sounding, condescending-toned, east coast (Yenta) accent while you imagine this:
"I got a call from Robin who said that you had a conversation that did not go well, that you are not happy with where your Dad is being placed. Well (with a Hmmmmph! in her voice), your Dad makes his OWN decisions and has decided ON HIS OWN to go to Villa. YOU are not in charge of his money anymore and HE decides where he goes and he has chosen to go to Villa."
Go ahead and laugh. Hubby and I did. Ackerman has more mood swings than a man taking hormone replacement to become a woman. 'Nuff said.
But...Hmmmm. Let's actually analyze her two messages...
My Dad, who is highly demented, who doesn't know how to wipe his own ass anymore because he doesn't realize what an ass IS, doesn't remember his family half the time and thinks that pictures on the wall talk to him...HE makes his OWN decisions? And, uh, IIII am not in charge if his money anymore...? Does she mean his Social Security check that I couldn't hand over FAST ENOUGH? That money? Or is the only account in his name...that whole $2000 they've been BEGGING for access to? THAT MONEY? What the "F" are these people ON?????
Seems that the now not-so-nice-Robin had some pretty interesting and not-so-TRUE things to say to Laurie Whackerman then.
What is it with these people and LYING? Is that a job prerequisite: big fat liar?
And it also seems that Burning Bridges 101 is another prerequisite. They burned this bridge, that is for sure.
Tomorrow, when they inevitably call me asking WHY I haven't brought the check to cover the cost of transportation and for the room and board for the end of the month...hmmm...well, if as Laurie said...that I am "not in charge of my dad's money anymore"...then, huh...I think that writing a check from an account with MY money in it is a really, really bad idea. They can suck it. Laurie Ackerman went from begging for money, to telling me I am not "in charge of the money". Seems that Laurie Ackerman is also dipping into the patients meds over at the geriatric psych ward. And if she isn't, she should.
Tomorrow I will start my own search for a suitable place for my Dad. Again. And if what Whackerman said is true...that he "makes his own decisions"...then he will see that IIIII will find him a nicer place and will go there "on his own".
I am also going to find out who to send a complain to for this whackjob of a Social Worker.
How do people like this sleep at night knowing they are purposely putting someone like my Dad in harm's way? HOW?
Bastards, every one of them.
I spent the day fielding and making calls about my Dad when I am not supposed to be doing any of that anymore. I got ONE of my own errands done and nothing else. I missed my Alzheimer's group again...for the 4th week in a row...all because of the same crap with the same people.
Ha...Well, at least they're consistent.