Main fundraiser photo

#TeamCarmenMobileAL


Official Carmen Brown fundraiser

Inquiries: [email redacted]

As we say our goodbyes to this unforgettable lady, we’re also creating ways that her legacy can live on.  
Read on to find out how you can help! 

First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to learn my story - your time means so much to everyone here at Team Carmen. We're committed to helping my mom with her end-of-life transition - Carmen Brown (aka my mom) was an amazing woman, who passed away on May 8th, 2023 at 11:21pm. The Retreat at Saad’s Hospice went above and beyond to facilitate comfortable, peaceful, and dignified transition from the living. 

We were able to fulfill our mission of spending quality bonding time with Carmen and to  her to lose the home full of memories she's worked so hard to achieve.

Let me take a moment to introduce myself to all of you wonderful humans. My name is Greg Bender, the only son of Carmen Brown-Bender. You may recognize her as Carmen Brown from her broadcasting career at radio stations all over the United States, beginning as a student DJ/volunteer at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI in the ‘60s. Her Alabama broadcast career includes on-air and management positions at WBLX FM, WKRG FM, WKRG TV5, WHIL FM and WDLT FM...well, you get the picture. My mother has a storied and celebrated career in the entertainment industry, culminating with a late-night spot as a Jazz DJ on Nspire U, an internet radio station.
As you can see, Carmen's dedication and joy in life have filled her years with fascinating people and opportunities. She is a strong woman, a loyal friend, and an integral part of the local music scene; and she deserves the best quality of life in her final days.

COVID-19 has been an unprecedented challenge for all of us, especially Carmen, whose exuberant and extroverted personality thrives on community-building and championing the arts. And despite taking extreme precautions at great cost to her social life, she contracted COVID-19 in March of 2023. Because of several existing health complications, the COVID virus turned into pneumonia, she rapidly lost weight, fell twice and broke a hip, and - as if ALL THAT wasn't enough - learned that she had terminal esophageal cancer. We were both devastated that she's had to endure so many difficulties in the last two months and fiercely committed to supporting her just as unfailingly as she has supported so many throughout her life.

Carmen has decided against invasive treatments like chemotherapy or radiation treatment and would prefer to die comfortably at home surrounded by the people that love her and the memories she's collected throughout the years. Currently, she has astronomical bills from her hospital stay despite her Medicare coverage - upwards of 5k so far, and they're still coming. As of today, she is in a short-term rehabilitation facility working hard to gain some independence and mobility back, but the reality is that she will need extra support to live comfortably at home...things like a wheelchair ramp, handrails and safety modifications in the bathroom, in-home nursing care, possibly a cleaning person to periodically help out. Quite transparently we're not even sure of what her ambulance ride, two weeks in the hospital, hip surgery, various tests and therapies, and time getting her much-needed physical therapy will end up costing her, let alone what other expenses we should expect along the way. It has been difficult enough for everyone here at Team Carmen to process the drastic and heartbreaking situations regarding her health that it's been nearly impossible to have the strength left to navigate the endless frustration of dealing with the numerous health and insurance bureaucracies that our society now requires.

We humbly request any financial assistance you could provide Carmen and her loyal team at this time of grief and difficulty. The bills we've been able to differentiate as not being covered by Medicare so far have passed the 5k mark. The modifications to her house will cost another 10k, even with me doing most of the work myself (and traveling down to Mobile and away from my family in Illinois to do so). The hospice program she's eligible for through Medicare provides a variety of support and equipment, but there are still plenty of costs that she will be responsible for out-of-pocket. And although we dread the very thought of it, it is possible that she will not be able to gain her mobility back, which would mean a dramatic increase in costs incurred - at-home nurse care, a dizzying array of supplies...to be honest I've never been through anything as difficult as this, so I can't even begin to estimate total costs. I'm just trying my best to stay on top of the financial cost aspect of Carmen's diagnosis BEFORE it gets out of hand and becomes unmanageable to the point that Medicaid would step in and force her to sell her house to pay her medical bills.

Please - Carmen doesn't deserve to lose everything she's worked so hard to earn on top of processing her terminal diagnosis and trying to gain her mobility and strength back. Anything you can afford to generously donate - ANYTHING AT ALL - would mean so much to all of us grieving yet determined people here at Team Carmen. And whether or not you can afford to help financially, sharing our story on ALL the social media platforms would help us reach more people so much.

If you're still here with us, again, THANK YOU from the bottom of all of our hearts. It's heartbreaking (and infuriating) to live in a time where it becomes necessary to have to beg for money online just so a person can die well. We are so grateful for each and every one of you who took the time to connect with our story. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Or, as Carmen would say, Str8 Ahead!
Donate

Donations 

  • Ramsey Keith
    • $125 
    • 8 mos
  • Patrick Nolan
    • $100 
    • 9 mos
  • Brandon Runyon
    • $50 
    • 10 mos
  • Anonymous
    • $100 
    • 10 mos
  • Wayne Dean
    • $125 
    • 11 mos
Donate

Organizer

Greg Bender
Organizer
Mobile, AL

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