Help Us Secure a Home For My Disabled Bedridden Mother

Hello, I hope this message finds you well. I am Shai (Shailesh). I am reaching out to you with a heartfelt plea for my disabled (currently bedridden) mother.

My mother has faced numerous challenges due to her disabilities, and one of the most pressing concerns we have is ensuring she has a safe and accessible place to live. Unfortunately, our current living situation does not adequately meet her needs, and we are in urgent need of a suitable home that can accommodate her mobility requirements.

We are raising funds to purchase and renovate a house that is safe, accessible, and nurturing for my mother. Please read on to learn more about me, my mother, the new home we are seeking, and how the funds will be used.

How the funds raised will be used:

How the funds will get to me:

GoFundMe campaigns cannot be created by people in India, so I have asked my friend Skyler, who lives in the U.S., to create this campaign for me. The funds will be transferred to Skyler's U.S. bank account and then transferred to my bank account in India.

About me:

I am an Indian Dalit trans queer person living with HIV and diabetes. I suffer from severe social anxiety disorder and major depression. Besides this, I am a student of Master's (in English Lit), and I work as a rescuer and feeder for our local cats and their litters in Navi Mumbai, India.

About my mother:

My mother, Nanda, is an elderly, 64-year patient living with long-term COVID-19 effects. When the virus began, my mother's health started deteriorating.

She was pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure; it got worse in December 2017. She had her first partial paralysis attack, since then her legs started weakening.

After she got COVID, it was declared that her nerves were affected and had started to get damaged, which led to Neuropathy.

Image caption: My mother's diagnosis of Neuropathy

In the year 2022, she developed an ovarian cyst, for which she was operated on, and surgically her uterus, ovaries and the cyst were removed.

Image caption: My mother when she was admitted for ovarian cyst surgery

The disaster didn't end there; after her surgery, in six months, she developed an umbilical hernia and gallbladder stones. Again, we had to operate on her. The organs were saved with the gauze, which was applied to the hernia region, and the gallbladder was removed.

Image caption: My mother when she had her hernia and gallbladder surgery

Later, last year in 2023, when her neurologist detected Neuropathy through EMG, he put her on steroids, 1 gram for three days and later 8mg thrice a day, then reduced to 4mg and later 2mg. It was stopped after a three-month's course. But the steroids had its negative effects and we were warned about it.

Image caption: My mother when she was receiving 1 gram of steroids per day

Image caption: Steroids that my mother was receiving

Hence, it affected her legs severely; she stopped walking, and they wouldn't respond to her. That was the moment when through an MRI Avascular Necrosis was detected. Her hips were damaged. Right hip, more than the left one. In November, we had to do her Hip Replacement Surgery and put implants.

Image caption: When my mother started losing strength in her legs

Image caption: When my mother was completely bedridden

Image caption: X-ray of my mother's hip implants

Since 2017, her life has started failing her, and when COVID-19 hit, everything collapsed. The impact of Long COVID has affected her life.

She had to go through multiple surgeries. We were in and out of the hospital nearly a hundred times.

The reason to tell her story is important because here, she was not only being operated on multiple times, but also being juggled from a tiny lane of the slum where we used to live.

Our current living situation has become increasingly untenable due to moving her on a stretcher or on a thick plastic rug. For safety concerns and structural issues, it has become clear that staying there is not conducive to her well-being.

Image caption: A recent photo of my mother after her physiotherapy session

About the new home we are seeking:

I have identified a property with immense promise for my mother. It is a place where I can envision her living without being traumatized by constant movements. The property is 500 meters away from a well-known hospital (where she used to be admitted all the time). This property is also directly adjacent to a road, which is a bonus point for my mother; she will be carried easily while going for hospital visits for her regular checkups.

The house that is currently on the property is not habitable. The iron pillars that hold up the house are not structurally sound, the walls are crumbling, many of the walls have mold in them, and the plumbing does not work. I aim to renovate the house so that it's safe and accessible for my mother.

This property will help me provide stability for her. However, to turn this vision into reality, I require financial assistance.

This property costs INR 10,50,000, or $12,590 USD. Renovating the house will cost 18,00,000 INR, which is approximately $21,555 USD. This amount will cover all of the construction work, electric work, plumbing, doors, windows, flooring, and painting. This amount will also cover accessibility features for my mother, including smooth, level floors for her wheelchair, a storage room for medical supplies, and a paved walkway from the house to the road, so that she can be transported easily on a stretcher during emergencies.

Your support can make a tangible difference in achieving this objective, whether through donations, contributions, or spreading the word.

Image caption: Bathroom with moldy and crumbling walls in the house. This will be fixed as part of the renovations.

Image caption: Structurally unsafe and crumbling ceiling in the house. This will be fixed as part of the renovations.

We are grateful for your support:

Regardless of size, every contribution brings us one step closer to realizing our dream of a new beginning. Your generosity will impact our lives and have a positive influence on my mother.

I understand that times are challenging given the situation of Palestinians and other severely affected countries because of ongoing genocide, ethnic cleansing, etc.

I am sorry, despite being traumatized by these events, I ask you for your help to save one life, save my mother. I would appreciate any assistance you can provide. Your kindness and compassion will not be forgotten.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my mother and my appeal. You can help us turn a dream into a reality and create a place to call a forever home.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want further information. My instagram is https://www.instagram.com/thelitshy/.

For additional photos and image descriptions for the above photos, please refer to https://tinyurl.com/NandaPics.

Thank you!