Donate to Lee Rea’s memory care needs

In August 2010 at the age of 72, our father Dr. Lee Rea suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm that ended his career as a vascular surgeon after 45 years of passionate service to the communities in which he lived. While he did recover to a certain extent, he was forced into immediate retirement and was left with permanent memory loss and an inability to care for himself.

In 2018, three years after the sudden death of our mother (who had selflessly taken on the role of his primary caregiver), it became necessary to place Lee in an assisted living facility where his safety and well-being would be ensured. Since that time, he has resided at Sunrise of Cascade in their memory-care unit where he has received excellent care primarily from Tawana, a compassionate and skilled professional who has treated Lee as if he were a member of her own family. We are beyond grateful for the consistent and empathic care she and her coworkers have provided him.

While our parents did have a considerable amount of money saved for their retirement, sadly at this point the entirety of that life savings has nearly been depleted. We are now faced with the distressing prospect shared by so many other adult children of aging parents — finding the means necessary to continue our father’s care. We would love for him to be able to spend more time in the capable and caring hands of Tawana and the rest of the staff at Sunrise, rather than having to move him to a different facility with caregivers unfamiliar to him. We are saddened by the reality that we cannot do so without help.

The goal of this GoFundMe is to raise at least $30,000 over the next 6 months to supplement Lee’s social security income and extend his stay at Sunrise in Tawana’s care for as long as possible. We believe that the consistency of care is important to maintain his quality of life. All funds raised will be used exclusively to help pay the $6000 monthly cost of his continued care. We would be beyond grateful for donations of any amount to help us achieve this goal while we take the steps necessary to get Lee on a waiting list for a spot in a facility that accepts Medicaid.

We sincerely thank you for your support,

Chris, Lauralee, Annemaree and David Rea