When it rains, it pours for this family - but they are sticking together and working hard to make it through simultaneous hardships.
I made this platform with the reluctant permission from my amazing Aunt (who hates to burden others, no matter how great the need) to ask for your consideration in assisting this family.
My Aunt Lorraine (left), Uncle Joe (center) and cousin Larry (right) have been struggling with my uncle's deteriorating functional status due to progressive dementia for the past few years, and have been his primary caretakers. Despite these challenges, they were staying afloat until a few months ago when my cousin was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer.
You can imagine how challenging this has been on my Aunt, who is an older woman herself, when her main caretaking partner suddenly became in need of care himself. Despite this, my Aunt is still determined to keep her husband of 50+ years comfortable in his own home and near family until he passes, and continue to provide all needed care for my cousin. When I visited them, I learned that their car just broke down and is need of major repairs, making visits to my cousins frequent chemotherapy and medical appointments even more difficult.
My aunt has never been someone to ask for financial assistance, and she has maintained financial security for her family long past the age of retirement while continuing to work on her side gig of real estate part time. Now, with two people depending on her for assistance, she no longer has that ability to do this. My cousin can no longer work while he undergoes chemo and radiation, which has led to even more financial struggle. Now, once small hardships such as a broken down vehicle, have become major hurdles. Unfortunately, applications for disability and financial assistance can take many months (sometimes longer).
Despite all these challenges, Lorraine and Larry continue to be bright, cheerful and hopeful. If he wasn't carrying around a chemo infusion box in one hand, you wouldn't even guess he was battling cancer since he's always cracking jokes and making everyone smile. :-)
With any financial contribution you can afford to generously donate to this family, they could potentially be able to repair their vehicle, buy groceries and supplies, pay down medical bills and (ideally) hire part time caregiving/respite assistance. All funds will go directly to these needs during this time of difficulty.
Thank you for reading this - and thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Janel
