Helping Rebuild My Auntie’s Life

I'm writing this as a cry for help hoping that some kind souls out there will answer my aunt's prayers. Transparently, this should have been set up years ago, but my aunt's pride and drive to 'make things work' held her back from asking for help. She is one of the most selfless people I know and this is the least I can do for her.

 

In 2013, my aunt took a new job as a flight attendant, with all of her kids finally out of the house and happily married. She knew this would be an amazing way for her and her husband to travel the world at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, before she was able to make this dream come true, her husband suffered a catastrophic stroke (at age 59) which his neuro critical care doctors deem a miracle he survived. My uncle’s income immediately ceased and my aunt was unable to work as she had to dedicate her new life to being a 24 hour caregiver learning the ins and outs of caretaking from wheelchair transfers to catheterizing. They quickly depleted their savings and retirement funds paying for unexpected medical bills on top of their budgeted expenses. Although my aunt started working again to keep their insurance, they racked up an insurmountable amount of debt purchasing new equipment for him, making their house handicap accessible and keeping up with the endless bills. Sadly, she had to sell her house because they were unable to keep up on their mortgage and she has since barely been able to stay afloat.

 

However the hardships didn't end there, in 2022

due to unforeseen circumstances, my aunts two grandsons (13 and 9) came to live with her full-time. In the blink of an eye, her world has been flipped upside down. She has gone from being an empty nester with dreams of traveling the world to barely living paycheck to paycheck, doing what she can for her debilitated husband and acting as the primary caretaker for two of her grandchildren.

 

Now, with limited funds, she is realizing that she can no longer do this on her own. She is hoping to move from Michigan to Illinois, where her brothers, sister and other children live so that her grandsons can grow up with additional positive influences in their lives, she can lean on her family for the mental and physical support that she so desperately needs and my uncle can have more visitors and be a part of family gatherings. The costs associated with a move and establishing a new life in Illinois put her in a precarious financial situation and she is quickly losing hope that this will ever be able to happen.

 

I am starting this GoFundMe in hopes of raising $30,000 to assist with the costs associated with this move, including a downpayment on a handicap accessible condo, moving her possessions, enrollment in schools for her grandsons, relocating her husband, and much more. If additional money is raised, it will go towards helping to pay off their debt