My worst fear confirmed. My mom has Dementia..

For the last two years, changes were happening with my mom that I couldn’t fully grasp. I traveled from Cincinnati back home to Los Angeles and quickly realized things weren’t the same. I decided to spend the month in LA and during my time there I set up doctors' appointments to find answers. It was confirmed that my mom had Dementia.

Dementia currently affects over 5.7 million people and 200,000 of them are 65 and younger – like my mom. This disease has greatly affected her short-term memory and her ability to care for herself safely.

During my month-long stay in LA, I took Mommy on a picnic, and within a few hours she asked, “Where’s Kristina? Let’s call her and tell her it’s time to go.” Naturally, my heart sank with the realization that she didn’t recognize me in that moment.

My immediate family and I thought it would be important for Mommy to visit for a few weeks in the Ohio/Kentucky area because there would be more support and community available to her. Unfortunately, and inevitably, her dementia progressed.

On September 9th, during an overnight stay at my house, around 4:30 am, completely forgetting where she was, she instead believed to have been kidnapped and jumped out of my 2nd story window. She sustained a spinal injury and a broken back which required emergency surgery. Mommy is currently finishing acute rehab and will continue to Long Term Care where she can live safely. Since her accident, her dementia has gotten worse, and more recently, she forgets where she is, what happened, and why she is receiving therapy. She often confuses the city/state she is in.

I’ve always been someone that does everything on their own and is reluctant to ask for help. Prior to her accident, I supported her and myself financially, coordinated all of her care, and was in the process of settling her past due accounts due to her financial mismanagement brought on by this disease. As her only child, this great responsibility has fallen on my shoulders, and I am now in a space where I recognize I cannot do this alone for much longer. My goal is to raise $25,000 to settle her finances, purchase flights to LA to begin her permanent relocation process, doctors' bills and pay for her Long Term Care expenses that will be out of pocket until Mommy can access her Medicaid benefits. On average long-term care, expenses are $64,800/year.

Thank you all for your support during this time. We appreciate this more than you could imagine!