Help Rich Finally Leave the Nursing Home and Come Home

Hi, my name is Rich, and I’m asking for help with something most people never have to think about…

the chance to live in a home of my own.

I’m 48 years old and disabled. I currently live in a nursing home. Not because I need to be here medically, but because I’ve never been given another option. This fundraiser is my attempt to finally change that.

How This All Began

When I was just 22 months old, a doctor gave me a medication called Compazine to help with nausea. Instead of helping, it caused a severe reaction that put me into a coma for a week. When I woke up, I had suffered permanent brain damage to the part of my brain that controls my arms and legs.

Since then, I’ve lived my life in a wheelchair, confined to it 16–18 hours a day.

I didn’t get a choice in that. But I’m still here, and I’m fighting for a choice now.

My Mom’s Impossible Decision

My mom loved me. She truly did. After my injury, she tried everything she could to take care of me. Endless hospital visits. Physical therapy appointments. Specialists. Medical bills that never stopped coming. The costs piled up faster than she could keep up with, and there was very little help available to her.

She was overwhelmed, exhausted, and alone.

Eventually, she was forced to make a decision no parent should ever have to make. With no support and crushing medical expenses, she made the heartbreaking choice to place me up for adoption. Not because she didn’t love me, but because she was drowning and trying to survive.

The Home That Wasn’t Safe

The family that adopted me did not adopt me out of love.

They adopted me for the money.

They were paid around $10,000 a month to care for me. Instead of care, I endured 20 years of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. I lived in fear in the place that was supposed to protect me. I had no voice. No control. No escape.

When I finally found the strength to say I had had enough, I was told there was only one place for me to go.

A nursing home.

I was 24 years old when I was placed into my first nursing home.

Twenty-Four Years of Nursing Homes

For the past 24 years, I’ve been moved from nursing home to nursing home. Different buildings. Same reality.

The truth is, many of the staff members try their best, but they are overworked, underpaid, and stretched thin. CNAs are responsible for too many residents at once, and as a result, most days I receive only the bare minimum of care.

There’s no independence. No privacy. No feeling of home.

I spend my days surrounded by elderly, dying residents while knowing I still have life left in me. I’m not done living. I just want the chance to live better.

Why I’m Asking for Help

I’m trying to raise at least $250,000 to purchase a single-level, ranch-style home that is completely wheelchair accessible.

This isn’t about luxury.

It’s about dignity, safety, and quality of life.

With my own home:

I can receive one-on-one, personalized care

I can choose who helps me and how

I can live with stability instead of constant turnover

I can finally have a place that feels like home

The Man Behind the Wheelchair

I’m more than my disability.

I’m a die-hard Denver Broncos fan. Football has always been my escape and my joy. I’ve always said that if I weren’t confined to a wheelchair, I would have wanted to be a football player. The game represents heart, resilience, and never giving up, even when the odds are stacked against you.

That’s how I try to live my life.

How Your Donation Helps

Every donation will go toward:

Purchasing a fully accessible home

Necessary wheelchair modifications

Allowing me to receive consistent, one-on-one in-home care

Giving me freedom, dignity, and peace

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page means more than you know.

From the Bottom of My Heart

I didn’t choose the life I was given, but I’m choosing to fight for a better future.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Thank you for caring.

Thank you for helping me try to finally come home.

— Rich