Contributing to Connie

Many of you have joined my journey with my mom and I since: June 25, 2019, the exact date of discovering that she had cancer. Since 2019, the life that Mom and I knew would never, ever exist again.

In the years that passed by, all of you watched as Mom battled a very rigorous regimen of radiation every single day, Monday through Friday, with a day of chemo on Fridays as well.

While Mom won the battle with cancer during this time, another disease began to take over. That disease is undoubtedly the most cruel disease for a family to experience. Its name is Alzheimer's.

At first, we only noticed small changes and even those were difficult to accept because each day was like a little burial of a portion of the person that we knew all of our life.

But today, those changes are anything but small! Mom has not spoken a simple 3-word sentence in over 2 years. In fact, she cannot speak at all anymore. I will not continue naming everything that she can no longer do, but I will say this, "The disease has robbed her of every single ability that she had!

A couple of weeks ago, during a hospitalization, I was contacted to speak with a representative from Hospice. The reason for their request was to discuss an END OF LIFE PLAN! I never imagined that I would be doing such a thing for my beautiful, young mother! NEVER! But I did, and it hurt me so deeply to even imagine that this was my only option.

Mom has since been returned to the nursing home, under the facility's care and the care of Hospice. These have been the most emotional and the most painful couple of weeks that I have ever endured! The previous days have required me to reach the depths of my soul and seek the guidance of Christ like never before!

As of today, Mom is losing weight rather quickly because she is refusing to eat or drink. This behavior was first noticed during her hospital stay. My grandmother and I attempted to feed her and we noticed a decrease in intake. Since being back at the nursing home and per my conversation with her nurse, I was advised that mom is only eating/drinking about 20% of what is being offered to her 3 times a day. This is common in patients with Alzheimer's but it is a harsh reality as you sit back and observe the frailness of your mom!

My heart is shattered....it has been shattered for years. However, this time is different. I have already buried every single piece of the mom, friend, coach, cheerleader, and every other position that she filled in my life. But this time, I see how close she is to the end. I see it in her eyes, as she fights vigorously to simply keep her eyes open. I see it when I place her hands in mine, just hopeful that my touch will give her some comfort, but I notice how yellow and cold her hands and her feet are. I see it!!! And soon, I am bombarded with 100 thoughts about what I need to do to prepare for an "End of Life" plan. I have always been a problem solver, but I found myself in a situation where I felt so powerless because there was nothing that I could do to fix the problem. But I realized that this time, I must place my pride aside and simply ask for help!

So, after 2 weeks in prayer, and only leaning on God for my answers, I decided to create a GoFundMe for my mom, so that I can be prepared for that "End of Life" call, that I know is coming very soon. Mom only has one insurance policy and the value of it is $1,000.00 That amount will not cover a portion of a basic funeral. It will not even cover the lowest amount for cremations, according to research that I have done thus far.

This circumstance has been weighing me down honestly for the last 6 months, if not more, but I didn't know what to do. I just kept suppressing it, but our journey is now at a point where preparation is a must.

I fear that I will not know which direction to turn when God calls momma home. I fear that I will not be able to afford even the most simplistic memorial for her. So, here I am, humbly coming before each of you to ask for help. I ask for help in preparing for the day when God calls momma home, and she can smile again upon each of the people that she impacted with her beautiful heart and soul.

My prayer is that a paid-for plan is in place and we can celebrate momma inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. Any contribution amount will be appreciated. And I pray that God multiplies your offering and blesses you for helping a friend in need.

Sincerely,

Tonya