Disabled Sister Needs Help
Donation protected
My sister Pat is 74 years old, physically disabled, and currently lives in Texas. She is trying to relocate to Colorado where her children and grandchildren live. They all live near each other and are a very close familly and are looking forward to having her near them again. Pat's youngest daugher lives in nearby Wyoming and travels to Colorado often as well, so Pat would be back with her family. In Colorado, her family has found a wheelchair accessible home for her to rent, located near them so they can spend time and especially holidays together, as well as assist with her care. Her kids will come to help her physically move so she will be near them, but are not financially able to help with the expenses. She is living in San Marcos, Tx, and after living there for several years, is finding it impossible to find reliable, compassionate and honest caregivers to help her get up in the morning, shower her, get her out of her chair mid day for an hour, to prevent pressure sores, do light housekeeping, laundry, prepare meals and get her to bed at night. It is important that I mention that she "lives alone" and spends countless hours waiting for neighbors or caregivers to drop by, and there is no one there in case she needs help during the night. She spends many hours lying in one position, unable to move till someone comes to get her up. She spent the night in her wheelchair recently because no one showd up to put her to bed. She is now fighting skin breakdown, which is very freightening. She has wonderful neighbors that check in on her, but they are seniors as well, and have their own health issues. My
husband and I live out of the country and Pat and I speak daily on SKYPE. Her independence is inspirational, she takes the senior citizen, wheelchair assessible van to doctors appointments, grocery store and pharmacy when they can pick her up. The two caregivers she has have been with her for years, but can no longer pull All the shifts , 3 times a day and do the physically intensive caregiving she requires. She fights to keep her independence, althought the government would prefer to stick her in a nuring home. She is not a candidate for a nursing home, she is much too active, alert and has so much to share and give . We have advertised, asked churches and origanizations for help in finding caregivers, but to no avail. We desperately need to help her relocate back with her family in Colorado (and daughter in nearby Wyoming )
She will need to rent a wheelchair assessible van to get to Colorado and a moving van for her belongings, as well as food and related expenses to feed and lodge the moving crew. She has the physical help to move, but needs help with costs of moving. She has been alone far too long, trying to prove she could do it....now it's time to spend time, and holidays with loved ones, where someone is nearby to look in on her, help and love her.
Her story: We are from Wyoming and in 1989 our father passed away and 6 months later, Pat had a terrible car accident. Her neck was broken at the the C5 - C6 (complete) level and has been paralyzed ever sence from the chest down. She gets around in a power chair, and with no use of her hands or legs, still continues to live independently. She is truely an inspiration to everyone she comes in contact with, living with an attitude of gratitude and faith. She is a warrior!
We moved her from Wyoming because, after a short recovery period and brief rehab, because they have nowhere to put spinal cord injuries, except in a nursing home. She was definately not ready for a nursing home and had a lot of living to do and a lot to share. My husband and I moved her to California , near us, into Rancho Las Amigos in Downey California where she endured months of rehab. Once she was ready for independant living she moved into a wheelchair accessible apartment near us so we could be very near her. Caregivers were hard to come by and lack of insurance , made it difficult for her daily existance, but she never complained. One morning, while she was in bed, unable to move or help herself, people came into her condo and took what little nice jewlery she had, her computer, her shoes, clothes , appliances and whatever else they could carry out. She had to lay there helpless, until, at last her scheduled caregiver showed up and called me at work , and called the police. My husband and I took a job out of the country and Pat chose to go back to Wyoming to be near her daughter and away from California where she no longer felt safe. Her oldest daughter and family traveled alot, doing Misionary work throught the world. While in Wyoming, Pat was contacted by an old high school girlfriend that had COPD who convinced her to move to San Marcos, to a very neat adult community, where they thought they would not be a burden to their families and could grow old together. Her friend was from another state as well and they agreed to move on the same day and meet in Texas. We arranged financially for her move and her children helped with the physical move, which was not an easy task for any of them, including Pat. The day she was leaving Wyoming for her new life in Texas, she got a phone call that her friend had passed away. Brave as she is, she moved anyway, not knowing a sole in San Marcos. She now has been there several years, but the time has come, she must move back to family. They are ready for her, we just need to get her there. I am sincerely praying that someone out there will hear our cry of desperation and help her put enough money together to get home. This money will pay for the wheelchair accessible van, the moving van, medical needs to move, food and lodging from Texas to Colorado and a little left to get her started in her new home. She needs to be on the road by the first week of September before the weather turns cold. Thank you so very much! God Bless you!
husband and I live out of the country and Pat and I speak daily on SKYPE. Her independence is inspirational, she takes the senior citizen, wheelchair assessible van to doctors appointments, grocery store and pharmacy when they can pick her up. The two caregivers she has have been with her for years, but can no longer pull All the shifts , 3 times a day and do the physically intensive caregiving she requires. She fights to keep her independence, althought the government would prefer to stick her in a nuring home. She is not a candidate for a nursing home, she is much too active, alert and has so much to share and give . We have advertised, asked churches and origanizations for help in finding caregivers, but to no avail. We desperately need to help her relocate back with her family in Colorado (and daughter in nearby Wyoming )
She will need to rent a wheelchair assessible van to get to Colorado and a moving van for her belongings, as well as food and related expenses to feed and lodge the moving crew. She has the physical help to move, but needs help with costs of moving. She has been alone far too long, trying to prove she could do it....now it's time to spend time, and holidays with loved ones, where someone is nearby to look in on her, help and love her.
Her story: We are from Wyoming and in 1989 our father passed away and 6 months later, Pat had a terrible car accident. Her neck was broken at the the C5 - C6 (complete) level and has been paralyzed ever sence from the chest down. She gets around in a power chair, and with no use of her hands or legs, still continues to live independently. She is truely an inspiration to everyone she comes in contact with, living with an attitude of gratitude and faith. She is a warrior!
We moved her from Wyoming because, after a short recovery period and brief rehab, because they have nowhere to put spinal cord injuries, except in a nursing home. She was definately not ready for a nursing home and had a lot of living to do and a lot to share. My husband and I moved her to California , near us, into Rancho Las Amigos in Downey California where she endured months of rehab. Once she was ready for independant living she moved into a wheelchair accessible apartment near us so we could be very near her. Caregivers were hard to come by and lack of insurance , made it difficult for her daily existance, but she never complained. One morning, while she was in bed, unable to move or help herself, people came into her condo and took what little nice jewlery she had, her computer, her shoes, clothes , appliances and whatever else they could carry out. She had to lay there helpless, until, at last her scheduled caregiver showed up and called me at work , and called the police. My husband and I took a job out of the country and Pat chose to go back to Wyoming to be near her daughter and away from California where she no longer felt safe. Her oldest daughter and family traveled alot, doing Misionary work throught the world. While in Wyoming, Pat was contacted by an old high school girlfriend that had COPD who convinced her to move to San Marcos, to a very neat adult community, where they thought they would not be a burden to their families and could grow old together. Her friend was from another state as well and they agreed to move on the same day and meet in Texas. We arranged financially for her move and her children helped with the physical move, which was not an easy task for any of them, including Pat. The day she was leaving Wyoming for her new life in Texas, she got a phone call that her friend had passed away. Brave as she is, she moved anyway, not knowing a sole in San Marcos. She now has been there several years, but the time has come, she must move back to family. They are ready for her, we just need to get her there. I am sincerely praying that someone out there will hear our cry of desperation and help her put enough money together to get home. This money will pay for the wheelchair accessible van, the moving van, medical needs to move, food and lodging from Texas to Colorado and a little left to get her started in her new home. She needs to be on the road by the first week of September before the weather turns cold. Thank you so very much! God Bless you!
Organizer
Debra Dodson
Organizer
San Marcos, TX