Help Marina and Anna Move!
Hi! My name is Anna Tsibina, and if you know me then you know I've been taking care of my mom, Marina, in some form since I have been ~13 years old. My mom has suffered from a combination of different illnesses and physical problems over the years, a majority of her problems stemming from her diagnosis of Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder with Autoimmune, Neurological, and Inflammatory Components. She also suffers from Degenerative Disc Disease, Severe Musculoskeletal Pain, Fibromyalgia, and repetitive strain injuries such as Rotator Cuff Syndrome and other myopathies.
Her condition has been steadily declining over the years, and her quality of life right now is very poor. She is in constant pain and has been for years. She has declined to a point where she has been unable to leave the house for over a year and a half now. She needs close to 100% assistance feeding herself and, for example, can not lift anything heavier than a small paper cup filled with a bit of water. She spends a majority of her time resting, hoping to alleviate some pain / avoid new pain and tension.
24 years ago, Marina had just moved to Boston, Massachusetts from the former Soviet Union along with her own disabled(post-stroke) mother and began raising me, her infant daughter, while working waitressing jobs and learning English in order to pass the American Medical Certification Exams necessary to becoming a practicing doctor in her new country. She did her residency at the Bronx Lebanon Hospital in New York, and in 2001 moved to the Utica, NY area to finally begin practicing as an Internal Medicine specialist both in Utica area hospitals and Illion NY medical offices.
The story is long and filled with details, but all throughout she has worked incredibly hard to build a life for us as an immigrant and a single-mother. My mom and I are each other's only relatives in this country. She does not have any help in the area other than me, and one aide we have already had hired who comes Monday-Friday 9AM-1PM.
The main issue is that Marina's specialist doctors are all in Manhattan. Marina has been unable to make the trip from CNY for two years now, as it leaves her in even more pain and debilitation every time. As such, the highest priority is for us to move to NYC, so that she can get the treatment she desperately needs. She has tried many different treatments and providers over the years, and these are the only ones that work. She can get more specialized medical care in the Manhattan area than is possible in upstate NY.
My mom waited to move until I graduated college, which I did in May 2018. She let me go to my school of choice, SUNY Purchase, 4 hours away from home, and has supported me in my education and supports me in any further education I want to pursue, also in the NYC area. What she did not plan for was her significant health decline, and how hard things would be for both of us. Because she needs such a high level of care right now, I am often left with very little free time in order to prepare us for the move. I am her primary caretaker. I grocery shop, run errands, cook, clean, help her eat etc, take care of our cats, assist with paper work .. essentially all functions of daily life for her have fallen on me and it has become too much to keep up with while preparing the house to move and still somehow finding a moment of time for myself as an individual. As my mother and I share DNA, I also have been diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder and Fibromyalgia, which makes it even harder for me to be working all day.
To Sum it Up: Another aide is required so Anna can get things together for the move. However, the financial aspect is an ever-present issue, and Marina does not have the funds to bring in another aide on top of the others on her limited income. This is where you come in. $2500 will be enough to bring on a new aide, who has already been contacted and is a friend of the family, for a ten week period at the conclusion of which Anna and Marina should be ready to move. This aide would take over some housekeeping/caregiving duties for Anna, as well as helping her with the actual packing/moving process. Having just a few hours of extra help every day is absolutely essential to getting Anna and Marina moved so that marina can get the treatment she so desperately needs and hopefully begin to recover and heal.
Thank you so much for reading, and thank you so much for your help.
