Stroke leaves caregiver juggling life, savings, Medicaid

caregiving without – After Trisha Martin’s 87-year-old mother suffered a stroke on March 9, 2024, the family returned home on April 1 and Trisha became the primary caregiver—without Medicaid. With savings above Medicaid thresholds and dementia care needs, the arrangement relies on

On March 9, 2024, Trisha Martin walked into her shared kitchen and found her 87-year-old mother standing there, wiping the counter—over and over—like a motion stuck in a loop.

Her mother had always insisted on independence. She would push her children away when they tried to help at home, telling them, “Leave me alone.” The plea was familiar. The moment it ended wasn’t.

Martin called 911. The ambulance took her mother to the hospital for an emergency procedure. Five days later, her mother went to an intensive rehab facility, where she stayed for two weeks.

Then came April 1—home again. From that day forward, Martin became her mother’s primary caregiver, with her daughter, TraNisha, 39, also living in the home and helping.

The family’s situation quickly became about more than daily care. Martin said her mother didn’t qualify for Medicaid because her savings are above the threshold. Her mother worked in the food industry her entire life, had good retirement benefits, and carried private insurance as a result.

That left the household looking for help in smaller, more targeted ways. Martin said they didn’t qualify for caregivers’ compensation, though they did receive a one-time grant for some items, including some medication due to her mother’s dementia.

The practical work is constant, but Martin framed the decision as an earned return. She described it as part of a “circle of life,” saying it felt natural to care for her mother now after all the years her mother had watched out for her.

In the home, the roles are split with care built into everyday routines. Martin sleeps in her mother’s bedroom, helping ensure she can get up during the night and use the bathroom two or three times. She gives a sponge bath every morning, and she helps with her mother’s walker and wheelchair.

Her mother can still talk and feed herself, but she’s otherwise dependent on the family.

TraNisha’s contribution, Martin said, centers on the business side of the house. She handles the finances and schedules her mother’s doctors’ appointments, taking her to those visits.

Martin said one of the best pieces of the arrangement is that she can work from home. She previously had a background in a local government agency, but she founded her spiritual therapy business, Life Advice By Divine Order, in 2011.

Now she is the one working to keep her schedule flexible enough to care for her mother. Martin said she knows some carers don’t have that kind of control, and she is “grateful” she does.

Her plan, she said, is to continue caring for her mother in their home “for as long as possible,” until someone else decides otherwise. As a spiritual person, Martin said she runs on “divine energy.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be by her side. ” she said—an answer that sounds simple until you trace what it takes in practice: a stroke on March 9. a hospital procedure. two weeks of intensive rehab. a return home on April 1. and then long-term caregiving stretched across nights. routines. savings. and the limits of public support.

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