The Telephone Game

Have you ever played that game of Telephone, where you tell the person next to you something, and they tell the person next to them, and so on until the end of the line? In most cases the message at the start of the line differs dramatically from the message at the end of the line, except for very simple messages. The reality is that the more complex the message, the more likely it is to be completely garbled at the other end. This is what happened to me today.

Last week I was arranging the final days of care coverage with my AHS Case Manager. I wanted the normal routine on Monday, then for the rest of the week there was to be no afternoon coverage. Shelby was to take that on immediately. The morning and afternoon  services were to be provided all week, with the exception of Saturday night, as we were to be at my daughter's wedding that day. Finally, all CBI services were to be finished after Sunday evening. Sunday was to be complete services as that is Shelby's day off.

I know. It's a bit complicated, perhaps too complicated for AHS and CBI. The afternoon cancellations were the first challenge. On Monday I spoke with CBI to ensure they understood what was happening. Things went well for the rest of the week, with morning care and evening care coming as planned, mostly on time. By Friday Shelby had the routine down pat. We were good to go for Saturday, wedding and all.

Sunday is where the wheels fell off the cart. I have now come to learn that there is no difference between "after the last visit Sunday" and "Sunday." My AHS Case Worker put in a cancellation notice for "Sunday" notwithstanding my request for "after the close of business Sunday" and "after the last visit Sunday". So this morning there was no HCA to get me out of bed. By the time I realized this, Shelby was long gone on her day off, somewhere with her 9 year old twin nephews, seeing a movie matinee.

It was a mad scramble with AHS doing their best to heat up CBI to deliver a caregiver. CBI said they would get someone, which really meant they would try to get someone without much effect. So I lay in bed, hour after hour, waiting. Finally at about 1:30 PM I got a call from Ramilla, one of my regular CBI caregivers, telling me that she was scheduled for my 4:30 PM visit. I let her know what was happening, that I was still in bed. She said the earliest she could come would be 3:00 PM. For even that, I was grateful. She arrived on time. My day began about an hour later after completion of my morning routine.

I really do have to learn to keep things simpler. Complexity just does not work for most people, especially AHS and CBI.