Bring Grannie Annie Home: Support for Medical Air Transport
Donation protected
I’m in desperate need of help to pay for a medical flight home for my 84-year-old Mom (aka Grannie Annie) from Orlando/Kissimmee, Florida to Cleveland, Ohio. Time is of the essence to get her to continue receiving medical care from her doctors at the Cleveland Clinic.
Mom has mixed dementia and 3 years ago moved from a small town, Aliquippa, Pa, to live with me and my family in Cleveland, Ohio. After a year and a half, my sister and I decided to split time taking care of Mom. The “hurdle” was that my sister, Lynn, lived over a thousand miles away in Orlando/Kissimmee, Florida. With Mom’s condition, it was not an easy trip to make, but we made it work. Once in 2023, she traveled with me to stay with my sister for 6 months. Then, my sister brought her back to Cleveland, at which time she lived with us another 10 months. Then, October 17th, 2024, she went back for another extended visit to Florida and during this time she became very sick.
Tuesday night, February 4, 2025, Lynn called and asked if I wanted to say goodnight to Mom like we have done often before her bedtime. When my sister opened the door to Mom’s room, she found Mom on the floor. Mom has not walked ever since that night! On February 7th Mom was hospitalized with a urinary tract infection (uti) and delirium. She received 3 days of antibiotics through an IV; and then released to a rehab center at a nursing facility in the Kissimmee area to gain strength and to continue her treatment with the antibiotics.
On Tuesday, February 25th, I traveled to Florida to visit Mom at the nursing home and found, that the people trusted to take care of Grannie Annie, were failing her. I found Mom in a hospital bed very lethargic. She knew me, and that I was there to visit but Mom could not open her eyes to look at me. She could not lift a fork to eat. She even could not swallow through a straw. For 4 days I questioned, and pleaded with the doctor, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, unit manager, case manager begging for further testing; but it all seemed to fall on “deaf ears”. All of them said that “they don’t test a second time”; and that the decline was due to her “dementia changing and advancing”, even though she would moan and cry out in pain when touched. They strongly voiced how difficult, mean and uncooperative she was, whether it was fighting during wash up, participating in physical therapy or taking her medicine. On Friday, February 28th, Mom’s condition worsened. She lay in the bed, more lifeless, and her speech was very hard to understand. Finally, the nurse practitioner came to Mom’s room and ordered lab work. Yet, she continued to share her thoughts that Grannie Annie was showing all signs of the end-stage of dementia. Then, very early the next day, around 2am, I received a call that Mom was being rushed to ER. Mom was admitted to ICU with multiple organs failing (kidney, pancreas, colon), severe sepsis and hyperactive delirium. Another day of laying in the bed at the nursing home could had killed her!
The antibiotics treatment at the hospital saved Mom’s life. Now, Grannie Annie can open her eyes. When Mom talks, you can understand her speech. However, Mom’s baseline has changed. She is still not walking, eating or swallowing on her own and receives nutrients through a feeding tube in the stomach. She spent 21 days in the hospital, and as of March 22nd, Mom was released to another nursing home in the area.
Please, help me bring Grannie Annie back home to Cleveland, Ohio. This way, she can continue with her medical and dementia care through the Cleveland Clinic, one of the best medical facilities in the world. I’ve been quoted a cost anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000 for a medical flight.
Survival is not how you end an experience, but how you live through an experience. Mom, we love you and you deserve the best care possible during your difficult journey living with dementia. Please, send a donation today.
Thank you!
Organizer
ROBIN GOMES
Organizer
Cleveland, OH