Linn and Tom, you both continue to be in my heart through all this crazy and stressful business. Thanks for updating those of us who aren't nearby. Thanks to all you locals, and especially to Saint Jeri, for doing all the things we'd try to do if we didn't live 700 miles away. Love to you all. Keep getting better, Tom.

The hospital-nursing home business is something I've had some experience with as my dad's power-of-attorney. Medicare paying for a nursing home requires a three-day "qualified" hospital stay. The critical word is "qualified." That means officially admitted to the hospital as a patient. Medicare often tries to dodge its responsibility by claiming a patient wasn't qualified because he/she wasn't officially admitted. (This apparently happens all too frequently when someone comes into the system through the ER. Medicare then claims that the patient was kept "for observation," which disqualifies the hospital stay.) You have a right to contest these mindless dodgy bureaucrats' decisions. Do it if you have any question at all!!!