Help Neil & His Family Access Care
Donation protected
Asking for money is never easy. We appreciate you taking the time to read and consider supporting our family during this challenging time!
Neil’s health took a rapid downturn at the end of December 2021, and since then has not been able to be on his own. He has been diagnosed with brain atrophy, peripheral neuropathy, and dementia and cannot stand up or walk independently. Due to his lack of mobility and constant fall risk, he can never be left alone.
Neil’s children (myself and my brother Mason) have taken turns being with him 24/7 beginning December 30th. We spent a month with him in Savannah navigating doctors appointments and daily care and decided the best course of action was to move him to Asheville so that my partner Zachary and I could provide the necessary 24/7 care. After 45 years in Savannah, this choice did not come lightly. He moved to Asheville on February 4th, and it was immediately apparent that we could not sustainably care for Neil around the clock. Even with our support, he falls frequently and needs intensive physical therapy.
Despite these challenges, Neil is in good spirits. He is graciously accepting our help, but we are all now agreeing that he needs more than we can offer.
After a series of falls, we spent two nights at the ER, where they confirmed he is not safe at home, caring for him is too involved for his family, and he needs professional support.
As we have been exploring our options, finances continue to pose a significant barrier to accessing the care that we need. Your donation will open up doors in amazing ways! The options below are what the funds we raise will go towards:
- We would love to access the Carepartners PACE program. This program can pick Neil up at his home each morning and bring him to their facility during the day, where he can have access to doctors, nurses, physical therapists, as well as community and recreational activities. This program would be a game-changer for Neil’s health and well-being and provide the necessary structure to his caregivers' lives. This program is $3,000/month. PACE is our ideal plan, and we would love to raise enough funds to cover multiple months of this program.
- We are also working with other local caregivers to plug-in throughout the week. Your donation will help us pay folks $15-$28/hour. The more we raise, the more hours we can hire support.
- We are looking into short-term skilled nursing facilities for Neil, but are having a hard time finding facilities that have space and take his insurance. Receiving around-the-clock nursing care, PT, and supervision would be so excellent. Neil’s Medicare plan covers 20 days in an SNF, days 20-45 are $188/day, and days 45-100 are covered. This means a possible copay of $4,700, depending on how long he needs to be in the facility. Your donation will help Neil receive additional time of skilled care if this becomes possible.
- Mountain Care Adult Day is an amazing local program that provide a safe space for adults who can not be alone, and respite for their caregivers. This is a daily fee of around $80 and can be accessed as many or as few days as we would like. The more that we raise, the more access we have to resources such as this.
We are in this for the long haul, and are working on creating a long-term and sustainable plan during this unexpected and extremely challenging time. Through your donation, you are offering care to Neil and his caregivers (his family!), and we cannot thank you enough!
With so much gratitude,
With so much gratitude,
Evan Cohen
Fundraising team (3)
Evan Cohen
Organizer
Asheville, NC
Mason Cohen
Team member
LIz Gunn
Team member
