Reed Abelson, The New York Times and Jordan Rau | KFF Health News (TNS)

Natasha Lazartes39, Brooklyn, New YorkTherapist

I am 39 years old. I had to care for my father, who passed from cancer in 2019; my mother, who passed in November 2021 from cancer; and since my mother’s passing, I have inherited the care of my grandmother. She is 97, diagnosed with moderate dementia, and considered high risk to be left home alone. We had been applying for Medicaid long-term care to receive a home health aide since early November 2021. She finally got a home health aide in January 2022, but it’s been a nightmare. They are so desperate to hire workers that they will take anyone. She was left without an aide on many random days with a late-notice telephone call or text message from the aide needing the day off and the agencies not able to find a replacement in time. I have changed agencies multiple times. My husband has been a great support the entire time. We rely on security cameras we installed in our apartment to see how she is doing while we are at work. How is it on a daily basis? It is emotionally and physically draining. The health care system for the elderly is neglected, broken, and inadequate to meet any demands, even the basic needs.

Natasha Lazartes with her mother, Carmen Torres, and husband, Jonathan Youngman, at her home in Brooklyn, New York. (Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times/KFF Health News/TNS)

Robert Ingenito44, Mamaroneck, New YorkPublic information officer

My father, who is now 93, had me late in life, at age 49. My mother died from cancer when I was 19. Literally on her deathbed, she said to me, “Don’t put your father in a nursing home.” Now, at 44, I’m married, I have a 6-year-old daughter, and for the past five years my dad has lived with us. I work about 20 hours a week, which allowed me to do something other than being his caregiver. If I had to put a price tag on the quality of care I provided to my dad, it would probably be the equivalent of a high-end assisted living facility. But it was becoming really hard for myself, my wife, and our daughter. His level of care was getting to the point of something I just could not sustain. He couldn’t be left alone. I wasn’t getting any sleep. Recently, I made the extremely difficult decision to move him into an assisted living facility. Fortunately, he has the financial resources to do that. For most people, that’s not even an option. I have been happy with the level of care that he’s getting, but when I signed the lease, I felt like I was breaking my promise. I tried my best to follow my mom’s wishes. But there’s only so much I could do, and I had to do it.

Karina Ortega43, DallasCaregiver

My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in March 2020, but even before then, I knew something was wrong. One day, she went to visit a family friend and was going to donate some clothes to her. Seven hours later, we still hadn’t heard from her. She got lost. Eventually she found a supermarket that was familiar to her and got home. I’m no longer working at all. This has all taken a toll on my life. I do have a younger brother and an older sister, but my sister has a daughter in college and my brother has a 7-year-old. I’m the only one with no children and have always been the one who would take care of my parents. If Mom gets worse and I can’t care for her? That’s something I struggle with. Putting her in a home? In our culture, that’s looked down upon. I was a rebellious teen, and she never gave up on me, so how am I going to give up on her? I just can’t see it in me to leave my mom because she needs me.

Gay Glenn looks out the window of the home she is staying in, which belonged to her mother, Betty Mae Glenn, in Topeka, Kansas, on Feb. 24, 2023. (Arin Yoon/The New York Times/KFF Health News/TNS)

Gay Glenn61, Topeka, KansasActor

It was costing us $8,000 out-of-pocket to have people come into my mom’s house to help her, and that was only eight hours a day. I’m watching her savings just dwindle. And then she fell. And then she fell again overnight. At the hospital, they found she had a cracked sacrum. She was in rehab for the maximum number of days that Medicare will cover and couldn’t return home. Because she owned a house, had two rentals, savings, and two cars, she had to pay long-term care costs out of her pocket. I think my mom had about $18,000 in the bank. She had five life insurance policies in her children’s names. We cashed out the policies. In one year, she had to pay $65,000 for her care at the nursing home and spend down an additional $37,000 to be able to be eligible for Medicaid. We just sold her house. She passed in October. The state says we still owe close to $20,000 for the year Medicaid paid for her nursing home. I moved here in February of 2019. I certainly didn’t expect to be here going on five years. It was awful — personally all the time and energy and money to do this for her — and it was great. I was able to protect her and make sure everything was OK for her. I said at the memorial service that my mom was there when I took my first breath, and I was there when she took her last. If that’s not the circle of life, I don’t know what is.

Bryan Ness62, Angwin, CaliforniaBiology professor

We had it all planned. My mom was going to live with us. She has some cognitive issues from the stroke. All of her long-term memory is just fine. Her short-term memory is just nonexistent. We looked at what it would cost for home care. Even if we limited it to just eight hours a day, it’s more expensive than the assisted living place that’s 10 minutes from our house. It’s a wonderful little place. It’s $4,500 a month. That’s still a lot. She’s run out of her own money. There’s no more than the $1,500 she gets from Social Security. We talked to the place and got it down to $4,000. I got really good responses from GoFundMe. A lot of my former students and friends put in some chunks. I hate begging for money. My wife and I are at least at the age where we don’t have kids we’re supporting anymore. But we’re concerned we are going to hurt our own retirement savings. My wife is already 65. We need to keep our retirement plan going, too. They told us: Don’t ruin your own retirement over this. Well, agreed, but we’ve got to take care of my mom, too. We have a relative who’s giving $500 a month. I’m going to take on some extra work to cover the costs. I felt my career could wind down over the next few years, and now I’ve got an $1,800 bill added to my finances from now until whenever.

Stacey Wheeler60, Greenville, South CarolinaRetiree

My mom was in independent living. I had someone coming in the morning to get her up. Nobody is getting paid enough to say: “Now, come on, you really want to get dressed. Let’s pick out some earrings.” I should have tried 20 people in hopes of finding one who did that. No one is going to waste time with an old person who doesn’t want to do what they don’t want to do. It’s hard to care about grumpy people when you’re barely putting food on the table. My mom got sick and then needed to be in a wheelchair in assisted living. When she sold her condo, she had about $2,500 a month in retirement and she had about $120,000 in the bank. That starts going fast when you hit $7,000 or $8,000 a month. Everyone’s so worried about being sued by people that every time something happened, they wanted her to go to the ER. I wish I had known that no one was going to help me. I would have kept her in independent living and gone through hiring people until I found one. My husband and I were both retired, fortunately. We couldn’t leave town. We tried twice and had to come back. Ironically, the last place she was in, because she was going to run out of money, was the best place. The room wasn’t as big, but the staff were the best there. Mom died in August 2022.

Jeanette Landin sits where she used to sit with her mother at her home in Brattleboro, Vermont. (Kelly Burgess/The New York Times/KFF Health News/TNS)

Jeanette Landin55, Brattleboro, VermontAssociate professor

There were wildfires where my mother lived out in California that were getting very close and were causing her health problems. Between that and a series of in-home falls and her inability to drive herself to different places, she finally called in November of 2017 and said, “I think I need to come live with you.” We found a house that would be adequate for both my family and her needs. Her dementia started to get worse. We looked at adult day care and found a local place. It was tremendously expensive to do that. But they were good until they got to a point where they contacted me and said she’s not following directions, she’s refusing to do appropriate hygiene. This was early 2022, and we had to pull her out of that service. In early April, she started getting violent and would threaten my husband that she was going to kill him by chopping his head off. And then she would tell me she was going to kill my daughters. One night I had her taken to the hospital and they found she had been in kidney failure. She was still very violent. They looked at placement in a nursing home. Because of the fact she was violent, she couldn’t be placed anywhere. They had to send her home with us, and we had to keep her chemically sedated. From the time she came home till the time she died, it was seven days. We kept our daughters from coming upstairs. We didn’t want them hearing and seeing what was happening because it’s not something I would wish anybody to ever go through. It was awful.

(KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)

©2023 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The loud speakers blared once the Saints’ Hail Mary pass attempt fell harmlessly to the turf. The song choice was obvious for anybody who has been paying attention.

As the Vikings celebrated their fifth straight win last weekend, defeating New Orleans at home, the power vocals of the rock band Creed echoed throughout U.S. Bank Stadium.

The vibes were immaculate with the late 1990’s smash hit “Higher” serving as the soundtrack of the moment. Then the audio strategically cut out with the song approaching its chorus.

Naturally, a large portion of the 66,933 fans in attendance took over for lead singer Scott Stapp, shouting every word in unison.

Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To a place with golden streets

“That was awesome,” Vikings center Garrett Bradbury said. “The whole crowd was singing it.”

How did this happen? How did a 24-year-old song somehow become synonymous with the Vikings?

It started about a month and a half ago when the Vikings played it before a win over the Bears in Chicago. Usually, linebacker Brian Asamoah is the keeper of the aux cord, meaning he’s in charge of getting the Vikings hyped up before they take the field.

“I embrace it,” Asamoah said. “I’ve been the DJ everywhere I’ve gone.”

Though he has a number of curated playlists designed for pregame, Asamoah isn’t too proud to take requests. He knows it comes with the territory of being the DJ in the locker room. Thus, Asamoah obliged when Bradbury asked him to play Creed, even if he had no idea who the rock band was at the time.

“I played it and everybody was turning up,” Asamoah said. “We ran out there and won the game and never looked back.”

The first reference to Creed came from franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins after the Vikings beat the Bears. He went out of his way to mention that “Higher” was playing in the locker room before the game. He joked that it might have made the difference.

“We thought we’d mix up the genre a little bit,” Cousins said. “Get some Creed in there. It was Garrett who made sure it happened. It was well received.”

It picked up some steam the following week as the Vikings played it again before a Monday night win over the 49ers at home. The recognizable guitar chords hit pregame while Cousins was getting his ankles taped, with Bradbury doing some bodywork alongside him to get loose.

“He goes, ‘I’ve got to go enjoy this with the boys.’ ” Cousins said of Bradbury. “He gets up and goes in the locker room.”

The song continued to play while a group of players gathered for their weekly prayer before the game. As they went to turn off the music, veteran safety Harrison Smith offered a counterpoint regarding the song and its chorus.

Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To a place with golden streets

“He said, ‘Guys, this is the prayer,’ ” Cousins said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘That’s pretty good.’ ”

Not everybody on the Vikings was privy to the rock band before it organically became a part of this season.

“The only Creed I knew was the boxing movie,” star receiver Justin Jefferson said. “I did not know about no Creed until Kirk started playing it in the locker room.”

It was a similar reaction from journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs after he arrived from Arizona at the trade deadline He remembers hearing it before the Vikings played the Falcons in Atlanta

“I was in the locker room before the game and somebody’s like, “Turn on Creed!’ ” Dobbs said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit different than the typical locker room pregame.”

He proved to be a quick study. After leading the Vikings to an improbable win that day in Atlanta, Dobbs posted a hilarious video on TikTok to thank the fan base for the warm welcome. The backing track? None other than Creed.

“I had to get up to speed on it all,” Dobbs said. “I’m taking it and running with it.”

So are the Vikings as a whole.

“It’s kind of becoming an anthem,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “It gets us ready to go. It’s funny how that works. All the guys get amped when they hear it.”

It’s only right that Cousins has remained a part of the narrative despite suffering a torn Achilles tendon that will force him to miss the rest of the season. Ask anybody in the locker room and they will immediately credit Cousins with starting the movement. Fittingly, he was spotted at TCO Performance Center this week, wheeling around on his scooter, wearing a shirt with an image of the rock band plastered on the back.

There’s absolutely no doubt the Vikings will blast Creed before they play the Broncos on Sunday night in Denver. They are a perfect 5-0 since “Higher” made its way into the locker room about a month and a half ago. It’s become an unspoken thing at this point.

“It’s every game now,” Asamoah said. “They look at me like, ‘You know what to do.’ ”

He pushes play, and 1 minute, 14 seconds later, the chorus plays.

Can you take me higher?
To a place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To a place with golden streets

“I didn’t even know the words like a month ago when we first started playing it,” left tackle Christian Darrisaw said. “Now I do. We’re embracing it. We know before we all go out there on that field, we’re going to listen to some Creed.”

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Vikings at Broncos (-2½)

The Vikings this week brought back former standout linebacker Anthony Barr and added him to the practice squad. If this reunion proves successful, the Vikings no doubt will quickly inquire about the availability of Dalvin Tomlinson, Jared Allen and Alan Page.
Pick: Vikings by 7

Alan Page is interviewed after he and his wife, Diane Page, show artifacts from their collection at their Minneapolis home on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. They have an extensive collection of African-American artifacts, including many Jim Crow pieces. They are looking for a venue to display the items because they believe the items are matters relevant to current racial happenings in the country. (Jean Pieri / Pioneer Press)

Eagles at Chiefs (-2½)

Philadelphia’s burly and bearded Jason Kelce was surprisingly named to People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive list for 2023. The Eagles’ center narrowly beat out his brother Travis, Larry the Cable Guy and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad.
Pick: Chiefs by 3

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MAY 11: (L-R) Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles watch game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in the 2023 NBA Playoffs between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on May 11, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
At left a March 1, 2003 photo obtained by the Associated Press shows Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan. At right, a photo downloaded from the Arabic language Internet site www.muslm.net and purporting to show a man identified by the Internet site as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sep. 11 attacks, is seen in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The picture was allegedly taken in July 2009 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and released only to the detainee’s family under a new policy allowing the ICRC to photograph Guantanamo inmates, ICRC spokesman Bernard Barrett said Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. A federal law enforcement official says professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators are being referred to the system of military commissions for trial. (AP Photo/www.muslm.net)

Buccaneers at 49ers (-10½)

Reports of the Niners’ demise proved quite exaggerated as they ended a three-game losing streak with a blowout victory in Jacksonville. While San Fran’s sudden revival took some by surprise, former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said he saw signs.
Pick: 49ers by 18

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. (Tribune News Service)

Bears at Lions (-9½)

Detroit coach Dan Campbell advised fans nervous about his fourth-down gambles to start putting on diapers before games. Many Lions mavens who were alive when they last won an NFL championship in 1957, though, have been using diapers for quite some time.
Pick: Lions by 3

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell addresses the media after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Raiders at Dolphins (-11½)

It became official on Wednesday that baseball’s Oakland Athletics have joined their Coliseum neighbors the Raiders in relocating to Las Vegas. So that’s the second time this decade that a pro team has moved to The Strip from a dump..
Pick: Dolphins by 17

Signs hang in right field at RingCentral Coliseum during a baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, May 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Steelers at Browns (-3½)

The Browns’ Deshaun Watson said he is “in disbelief” after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. It’s a feeling shared last year by Cleveland fans who were “in disbelief” that the franchise committed $230 million to a massage freak.
Pick: Browns by 7

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 12: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns is tackled by Jadeveon Clowney #24 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Cowboys at Panthers (+10½)

Carolina coach Frank Reich says he is taking over play-calling duties for the Panthers. The move was immediately mocked by Panthers fans who recall Reich is the same dolt who drafted Bryce Young instead of C.J. Stroud..
Pick: Cowboys by 17

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 09: at Soldier Field on November 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Cardinals at Texans (-5½)

Kyler Murray returned from his severe knee injury to lead Arizona to a rousing comeback victory over Atlanta. While the victory doesn’t guarantee that the Cardinals’ 2024 quarterback will be named Kyler Murray, it means he almost certainly will not be named Caleb Williams.
Pick: Texans by 3

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 12: Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals scrambles against the Atlanta Falcons during the third quarter at State Farm Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)

Chargers at Packers (+2½)

L.A. coach Brandon Staley says he’s going to remain the defensive play caller and is not making any major changes to the Chargers’ poor defense. He feels any major alterations should be made by whoever succeeds him as coach in a few weeks.
Pick: Chargers by 3

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 16: Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley reacts in the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium on October 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Jets at Bills (-6½)

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen says it hurts that Ken Dorsey was fired and says the offensive coordinator would still have a job if he and the Bills played better this season. Allen also determined that the sun rises in the East, and water is wet..
Pick: Bills by 7

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball against the Denver Broncos during the third quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on November 13, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

OTHER GAMES

Titans at Jaguars (-6½):
Pick: Jaguars by 7

Giants at Commanders (-10½):
Pick: Commanders by 8

Seahawks at Rams (+2½):
Pick: Seahawks by 7

TAMPA, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 12: Will Levis #8 of the Tennessee Titans reacts after being sacked during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Bye weeks

Falcons, Colts, Patriots, Saints

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Record

Week
8-6 straight up
7-7 vs. spread

Season
92-58 straight up (.613)
77-73 vs. spread (.513)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on Twitter — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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