Help Church Elder With Dementia Recover In Safety

Please help my parents! My dad's care costs my mom $4000 a month and she is already talking about bringing him home prematurely, because she can't afford it.

On October 9, my parents, Ron and Glenda Lammert, headed to the grocery store to pick up an online order. I got a call from my mom's phone, shortly after, and assumed she was calling to ask about the groceries. It wasn't my mom's voice though. A stranger said, "I'm with your mom," I expected her to finish, "she needs you to text her parking space number to the store," but instead she said, "Your parents were in a bad accident. They're both injured. It doesn't look good. You need to meet them at the hospital". My heart sank into my stomach and I was too stunned to even cry. I grabbed my daughter and sped over to the hospital, in shock.

My mom and dad in the rehabilitation center.

The ambulance took my mother to the University Hospital Trauma Center first, because the caller told me her neck was dislocated. As it turned out, she only had a few broken fingers and there was nothing wrong with her neck. She still requires a walker, however, because my dad landed on her during the accident, causing soft tissue, muscle and nerve injury.

My father, who was not wearing a seatbelt, sustained several neck fractures, head trauma, a broken femur and had to have his kneecap rebuilt. Months later, he still needs a walker and has lacerations all over his body.

My father suffered from dementia, even before the accident but afterwards, his behavior became even more bizarre. Initially, he was unable to hold any sort of conversation at all and even now, a lot of what he says makes no sense at all.

My dad in the hospital, recovering from bowel obstruction surgery.

After the hospital, my father was briefly sent to a rehabilitation center but while he was there, he incurred a severe bowel obstruction and had to return to the hospital for surgery.

He lives alone in the house with my mom, who currently uses a walker and only has one usable hand. It is not possible for him to go home to her right now.

The rehabilitation center recommended that we put him in a personal care home for 6 months, while he and my mom recover. Unfortunately, the cost is completely out of pocket and my parents don't have that kind of money anymore.

After his second hospital stay, we moved my father to Loving Hearts Senior Home Care. It is a personal care home owned by a nurse and he is one of only 2 people in their care, so he receives more attention than he did at the rehab facility. It is $4000 a month, plus a $500 facility fee.

My dad has always been the most generous person I know, donating countless time, money, resources and labor to organizations such as Concordia Lutheran Church and Lutheran Outdoors Ministries of Texas. He has also done mission work all over the world. He has touched many lives over the years, so I'm confident the community will come together to help him now, in his hour of need.