Help support Michelle
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For those of you who don’t know, in 2016 the beautiful Michelle Morton, at the young age of 51 years was given the devastating diagnosis of “Early onset Alzheimer’s Disease”. There is very limited understanding of this disease and the family were left with so much uncertainty of what the next steps would be.
Statistics show that two out of three people globally believe there is little or no understanding of dementia however every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia. There is limited support for those diagnosed with early onset dementia such as Michelle, which is very worrying for a family who want to provide the best support to their loved ones at a very difficult time.
Michelle is an amazing mother of three children, Tracey, Karlie and Trent, they are the light of her life.
Michelle is a devoted wife to Greg, the couple have been together since the age of 15.
Michelle was also an elite athlete and had been in the trials for the Olympic Games in her earlier years, to this day Michelle is still physically fit and very much enjoys time outdoors. It has been heartbreaking to watch her mind slip away from her.
Michelle’s type of Dementia is fast and progressive and as a result, Michelle has lost manly skills which enable her independence, she is no longer able to complete even simple tasks such as dressing independently. Michelle now relies on 24 hour care for all activities of daily living, she requires full time supervision; which sadly was becoming increasingly more difficult while living in her family home. Over the last 3 years Greg, Tracey and Trent have gone above and beyond to provide the high support needed to assist Michelle to continue living at home, however at the start of 2019 the family was at crisis point and needed to place Michelle into respite.
Unfortunately, there is a large gap in the system, and services/respite for early onset Alzheimer’s are few and far between. Aged care facilities aren’t equipped to meet the physical and social needs of young dementia patients, which can have a significant impact on illness trajectory.
Michelle’s family have jumped through hoops and fought hard to gain a place within “Alameda House”, a purpose built home for early onset Dementia, which facilitates independence and allows Michelle to still have quality of life. Michelle has settled into this environment and has come to love the short amount of time she has been there -HOWEVER- the ongoing cost is $250, 000 a year out of pocket, which sadly is very unrealistic.
This is a very difficult time for Michelle’s family, they are not only having to deal with the pain of the decision of having Michelle placed in care but are having to deal with the added stress of coming up with the money to allow Michelle to stay in an environment where she is able to have the best quality of life. We are hoping to raise any money at all to help fund Michelle’s care at “Alameda House” whilst her family continue their plight for government funding.
Whilst the Mortons never ask for help, we see the effects this has on their family and hope to make even a small difference at this time.
Thank you for everyone’s love, support and time,
The Mortons support team xx
Statistics show that two out of three people globally believe there is little or no understanding of dementia however every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia. There is limited support for those diagnosed with early onset dementia such as Michelle, which is very worrying for a family who want to provide the best support to their loved ones at a very difficult time.
Michelle is an amazing mother of three children, Tracey, Karlie and Trent, they are the light of her life.
Michelle is a devoted wife to Greg, the couple have been together since the age of 15.
Michelle was also an elite athlete and had been in the trials for the Olympic Games in her earlier years, to this day Michelle is still physically fit and very much enjoys time outdoors. It has been heartbreaking to watch her mind slip away from her.
Michelle’s type of Dementia is fast and progressive and as a result, Michelle has lost manly skills which enable her independence, she is no longer able to complete even simple tasks such as dressing independently. Michelle now relies on 24 hour care for all activities of daily living, she requires full time supervision; which sadly was becoming increasingly more difficult while living in her family home. Over the last 3 years Greg, Tracey and Trent have gone above and beyond to provide the high support needed to assist Michelle to continue living at home, however at the start of 2019 the family was at crisis point and needed to place Michelle into respite.
Unfortunately, there is a large gap in the system, and services/respite for early onset Alzheimer’s are few and far between. Aged care facilities aren’t equipped to meet the physical and social needs of young dementia patients, which can have a significant impact on illness trajectory.
Michelle’s family have jumped through hoops and fought hard to gain a place within “Alameda House”, a purpose built home for early onset Dementia, which facilitates independence and allows Michelle to still have quality of life. Michelle has settled into this environment and has come to love the short amount of time she has been there -HOWEVER- the ongoing cost is $250, 000 a year out of pocket, which sadly is very unrealistic.
This is a very difficult time for Michelle’s family, they are not only having to deal with the pain of the decision of having Michelle placed in care but are having to deal with the added stress of coming up with the money to allow Michelle to stay in an environment where she is able to have the best quality of life. We are hoping to raise any money at all to help fund Michelle’s care at “Alameda House” whilst her family continue their plight for government funding.
Whilst the Mortons never ask for help, we see the effects this has on their family and hope to make even a small difference at this time.
Thank you for everyone’s love, support and time,
The Mortons support team xx
Organizer and beneficiary
Leah Taylor
Organizer
Dee Why, NSW
Tracey Morton
Beneficiary