Help Bob Patin with Medical & Living Expenses

Hi, I’m Bob.

And my wife Lori was my college sweetheart and the love of my life.

After a 20 year struggle with Parkinson’s, she passed away in 2020.

Our life together was one of passion, purpose, love, and family. I am bereft at the loss. And at 81 years old, I also find myself unexpectedly and embarrassingly facing the real emergency of medical bill debt and housing insecurity.

Staring down the barrel of debt and not being able to make ends meet is something I never could have imagined would have ever happened to me.

Over the last decades, I found myself financially on the hook for not only my wife’s care and treatment, but I was also responsible for supporting a mentally unwell sister who wasn’t able to work, and my youngest daughter and her four children when the husband abandoned the family.

I worked hard my whole life through a series of executive roles in the insurance industry. I worked hard to provide a good life for my family, to make sure everyone I loved was taken care of, and to be able to give widely and generously to people and causes I cared about.

And yet here I am. I never thought it could happen to me. But it has. And if it can happen to me, then I know so many of our 70-year-old-and-up citizens are living just at the brink.

I have a two-fold mission with my drive to raise funds:

I need $168,000 to get out of debt and secure my future housing

Any amount over that I can raise I want to put towards establishing a trust. I firmly believe there must be a world-class organization devoted to raising substantial resources, uniquely identifying older adults with financial hardship, and providing specialized housing supporting their quality of life in a culture of caring, mutual respect, and affection.

The last 20 years of taking care of Lori, my precious partner, has taught me that we can have all the plans and wishes we want, but life has other plans.

I want my story to be a lesson and wake up call for our society.

Anyone can find themselves at 80 the victim of life’s unrelenting dice rolls. Anyone can find themselves at 80 having worked hard, but worrying about how to have a roof over your head and food to eat.

Older adults shouldn’t have to live in fear. We need help. I need help.

Sincerely,

Bob Patin