I LOVE MY MOM.  Please Help If You Can.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his "Mother". (Paraphrased)
John 15:13

My mother is 97 years old and suffers from multiple health issues.  She is blind due to macular degeneration,  has a pacemaker, is asthmatic, is deaf in one ear, has a hearing aid in the other ear, and suffers from severe scoliosis because she was stepped on by a horse when she was a baby.  In the last ten months she has had to be hospitalized three times.

My  mom is one of the oldest surviving true second generation Korean Americans from the First Wave of Korean Immigration in the early 1900s.

Her father left Korea in December 1902 and arrived in Hawaii in January 1903.   Grandfather was forced to flee from the Japanese military occupation of Korea.  He was from a noble educated family and clan, and he would have probably would have been imprisoned, tortured, and killed if he had stayed in Korea.  From Hawaii he moved to Riverside, California at the urging of the famous Korean patriot Dosan Ahn Chang Ho.  My mom's family and the Ahn family were very close.   Dosan's two daughters were my mom's older sisters since she only had five brothers.  My mom still remembers playing on the front porch of the Ahn house as a little girl.

After working for ten years, my grandfather was finally able to bring my maternal grandmother to the United States.  They had grown up in the same village and were childhood sweethearts.   My grandfather had promised my grandmother that they would someday be together again when he left Korea.  They were married and raised six children together in the United States, five boys and one girl, my mom.

My grandfather was one of the driving forces behind the building of the first Korean Christian church in Los Angeles.  He purchased the stained glass window at the head of the sanctuary and donated to the church to honor his mother.  He even picked up the window in his Model T pickup and delivered it to the church.  

I am my mom's primary caregiver and she has been living with me since my older sister passed away in November 2010.  A year before my sister passed she made me promise  that I would always take care of my mom if anything ever happened to her.   I promised my sister that I would always take care of my mom.  No matter what.  Here is a photo of my mom and dad with my sister.

After my sister's passing, I turned my life completely around.  I moved my mom in with me and dedicated my life to caring for her in every way I could.  The carefree bachelor was gone, and only the devoted son remained.   What I want, where I want to go, what I want to do, no longer matters.
Only my mom matters.
My entire life is devoted to caring for my mom.  
I am only focused on making my mom feel comfortable, safe, secure, protected, and loved, every single minute of every single day.   I even have a Facebook page dedicated to my mom and how much I love her.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/439952972829555/ 

This is the burden that Jesus Christ has given me to bear.
I will always be there for my mom. 

It has been a struggle, but my mom is worth everything I have had to endure.  I have not had a break or a vacation in over seven years.  I stopped going out and rarely see any of my friends.  I often stay home just because I know it makes my mom feel safe and secure when I am in the same room with her.

I never thought I would ever ask for help and have always strived to be independent but due to circumstances beyond my control my life is at the point where I am now completely overwhelmed.

In October 2017 my mom was in the hospital for two weeks due to a severe infection in her arm.  Her body was simply not strong enough to fight off the infection and she had to be hospitalized.  She was very weak and disoriented due to the powerful antibiotics she had to take.  After my mom was released I had to take time off from work to care for her.

In January 2018 I was in a bad auto accident and suffered multiple injuries including a  severe concussion and a pinched nerve in my neck.  I was unable to drive or work for several weeks and still am suffering from the lingering effects of the accident.

In March 2018 my mom suffered a mini stroke and had to be hospitalized again for a week.  I was afraid I would lose her when this happened.  Mom was disoriented and confused after being released  and had problems doing simple tasks so I again had to take time off from work to care for her.

In April 2018 my mom had to be hospitalized again for a week due to an intestinal blockage which required emergency surgery.   And again I had to take some time off from work to take care of my mom.

In June 2018 I was bitten by a dog and my left hand was severely injured.  I was unable to use my left hand for a month and could not work very effectively.

I know this sounds crazy and if I didn't have the medical records to back it up I would think I was crazy.

They say when it rains it pours.  This has been more like when it rains it floods.

Because I had to take so much time off from my small independent business to care for my mom and to care for myself, I have fallen behind on my bills and am in dire financial need.  

I have fallen behind on my 1st and 2nd mortgage and am desperately trying to save my house from going into foreclosure.  I did manage to get loan modifications on both mortgage loans earlier this year but have still fallen behind on the payments because I have missed so much work caring for my mom.

The home I live in was originally purchased by my parents in 1954.  They were married in 1947 after my father returned from serving in the United States Army during World War II.  When my father passed away from a stroke in 1999 my mother continued to live there alone until she lost her vision due to macular degeneration in 2001.  We decided she could no longer live alone so we moved in with my sister.  After my sister passed away in 2010, I decided to move her in with me and care for her as her primary caregiver. 

I made a promise to my sister and I intend to keep it.

I was in the hospital room with my family when my father passed.   I will always remember the last thing my mom said to my dad when it was confirmed he was gone.

"Wait for me".

I bought the family house in 2003.  Several years later I took out a 2nd mortgage to help my sister escape bankruptcy.  She had lost her job and was deeply depressed.  I paid off her bills and late mortgage payments to save her house, and gave her money to purchase a new laptop computer so she could start her own accounting business.

My mom loves living in this house and she feels very comfortable there.  She knows where everything is and knows how everything works.  It would be huge burden for her to have to move and I know it would make her very sad.

My father was an United States Army Veteran who served in Europe during World War II.   He was in a US Army anti aircraft unit that landed one or two days after D-Day to provide air cover for the advancing ground infantry units.  He is in the second row from the top, fourth from the left side.

My mom's five brothers also served in the US Army during World War II.  My mom was a volunteer at Minter Army Air Base in central California during World War II.  

I am all my mom has.  My estranged older brother and his family have not spoken to my mom in over seven years.  He and his family have completely abandoned her.  My mom has told me several times that I am the only son she has now.  It broke her heart when my brother and his family abandoned her.  I had never seen my mom cry until then.

I am here on GoFundMe trying to raise enough money to save my family house and to continue to care for my mom every single day.

I am asking for help primarily to care for my mom and to save my house from foreclosure.

Right now I need about $7000 to catch up on my 1st and 2nd mortgage.

If I am fortunate enough to raise any additional funds then I would like to take my mom on one last vacation.  My family used to vacation in June Lake every year and I would love to take her back to June Lake one last time before she passes.  Below is my favorite photo of my mom and dad because they look so happy together.  This photo was taken at Rush Creek on the June Lake Loop.

If you also love your mom, please consider helping my mom and me get through this difficult time.

Thank you and God bless you.

I LOVE MY MOM.