Help Beth Frankel's Memory Care

Beth is battling Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson's Disease (LBD). Our family is struggling to meet the financial needs of her long-term care. We hope to ensure that Beth can remain comfortable at her current memory care facility.

Her fixed expenses are now at $8,000 per month. Beth will run out of money quickly. We need help to keep that from happening. The transition to medicaid is messy and will require her to move to a non-private room in an unfamiliar facility.

All donations will be applied to her monthly balance at Concordia of Fox Chapel or future care facilities, if needed.

No additional expenses will be covered by donations. Should donations exceed our goals and exceed Beth’s needs we will refund those donations. GoFundMe fees will be deducted from the donations as indicated in the GoFundMe terms of service.

Our initial goal is to raise at least $50,000. This will help to cover about six months of Concordia care. This will give us additional time to save money for her final care.

Daniel and I will be utilizing our equipment from work to host fundraising events. We will be utilizing our connections within the community to set up collection containers. Please contact us if you are interested in hosting a donation event or collection container. Thank you for your consideration.

~Mom’s Story~

Elizabeth Lynne Frankel was born to Mary Lee and Harry C. Fennell in Pittsburgh, PA in 1953. Mom had one loving brother, Harry Fennell, Jr. She attended college at IUP for primary education. She loves to travel, be with family, dogs, and playing card games. Her family, and large extended family, love her very much. Beth and late husband, Maury, moved around Pittsburgh working separately until 1999 when they founded E.L.F. Entertainment, Inc. She and Maury built a successful event planning business that is almost in its 25th year of operation.

Beth has been impacted by LBD starting as far back as 2013. Apathy, disorganization, and increased anxiety stand out only in hindsight. She developed a slight tremor in her hands and eye lids in 2017. The family visited with doctors and specialists that all dismissed it as aging or as a non-Parkinson's tremor. By the winter of 2018, she was suffering worsening tremors and was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

In 2019 she could no longer use Quickbooks or Excel. This was software she had been using for almost twenty years. She was forced to retire from office work. Coming to the office with her dog Molly was one of the things keeping her sharp. In 2021 she was having noticeable issues with driving and daily tasks. This limited Beth's ability to leave her apartment. Anxiety attacks hospitalized Beth multiple times between December 2021 and April 2022.

We pursued a new primary care physician and moved to working with the neurologist team at UPMC. Beth was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinson's in 2022.

As part of this diagnosis, she was ordered to stop driving. The loss of her ability to drive was devastating. She loved going out with family and friends and driving around with her pup Molly. Beth regularly spent time with her late mother, Mary Lee Fennell. They did all their shopping and beauty appointments together. This change had a profound impact on their relationship and caused a decline in Mary Lee's health. You hear horror stories of how bad things get with memory diseases and disorders...turns out they are all accurate.

Last July, my husband and I moved in with Beth. Our goal was to eventually move her to Florida or to Atlanta to be closest to her kids and grandkids.

Ask anyone and they will tell you diseases like LBD make it very difficult to care for loved ones. Stress elevates her anxieties. Additionally, Beth values her independence and is not accustomed to relying on others. Daniel and I have difficulty balancing full-time jobs and full-time care roles. By October 2022, the decision was made to move her into a managed memory care facility. Concordia is a place where she can have independence with round-the-clock care.

The problem: at a minimum of $8,000 per month, Beth will run out of money quickly. With a looming switch to Medicaid and benevolent fund applications, we are looking at having to pay for her care out of packet long term and it is very simple; we cannot afford that.

Switching to Medicaid may result in her moving facilities multiple times. This is a terrible situation for anyone, but especially for those with an illness such as Lewy Body Dementia. Beth has become very comfortable and familiar with her care managers. The best thing for her is to stay at the same facility. Unfortunately, Medicaid does not provide sufficient financial coverage.

Ultimately, our family just wants to give Beth the best care possible. No one can fathom what it is to experience the despair caused by this disease. We hope that this work we do as a community will help to reduce her suffering.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering a donation. We love you.

All donations will be documented here on GoFundMe and expenditures will be publicly documented in updates shared on the GoFundMe donation page.