Patte’s Funeral Expenses
Donation protected
The Backstory: Patte was working for American Airlines for 37 years and in July of 2012, she was laid off... this was the beginning of the spiral downhill. Two weeks following that, Patte's mother passed away causing havoc in our family due to dealing with what happens when a loved one passes away. After the dust settled she decided to actually enjoy her retirement, as anyone should!
She enjoyed going to lunch with our daughter Laura, watching her soaps, and having lunch with friends. We soon sent our daughter off to Texas State where she was dancing and Patte was thrilled to see that, we also welcomed our first granddaughter Sofia into our lives and our first grandson not too long after. As things in our world were looking up, something changed in Patte.
As time progressed, she began doing things out of character. Taking the car and leaving the house with no destination, telling confusing stories, asking for odd things and eventually taking off and walking to places with no reason or recollection.
In February of 2017... Patte was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. This means that she no longer can control her behavior, recall any short term memory and the Patte as we knew her has faded.
What Now? When Patte got diagnosed I ultimately made the decision to retire from teaching to serve as her sole caregiver-not to mention I was recovering from surgery oral cancer. As time has gone on it has been a challenge to help care for her full time. Not to mention- we also lost our car in an electrical fire. So now we have no means of transportation to and from doctors appointments other than borrowing our daughters car.
At the present time Patte needs 24/7 care, that I can no longer handle on my own. As I struggle with my own health issues we have come to the extremely hard decision to place Patte in Memory Care full time. So not only can we improve her quality of life, but I can also care for myself so I can be there for her, as well as my children and grand children.
How can you help? As I type this I am still in the hospital recovering from another surgery and Patte is currently in respite care (temporary memory care). When we originally placed her, we were afraid this would be the hardest thing we ever did for her stability, however it was the exact opposite. Patte is thankfully thriving! While we have her in temporary care, we are hoping to keep her placed permenatly so we don't disrupt the progress that she has made at Autumn Leaves.
We could really use urgent help since both my daughter and I have depleted our savings in order to pay for her care up until now. While I try to sort out selling our house to continue to pay for it in the long run ANY donation can help us move forward on what is best for my wife and myself. For those that know me, you know I don't usually reach out for any help whatsoever, but I am. My wife needs the best care she can get and I am doing whatever I can to accomplish that.
If you cannot financially donate, please just help by sharing this post. I truly am a blessed man to have the friends and family that have helped with prayers, love and support that is given daily. You are all wonderful people and my family is very lucky to have you all.
Thank you so much,
Vince Rohloff
She enjoyed going to lunch with our daughter Laura, watching her soaps, and having lunch with friends. We soon sent our daughter off to Texas State where she was dancing and Patte was thrilled to see that, we also welcomed our first granddaughter Sofia into our lives and our first grandson not too long after. As things in our world were looking up, something changed in Patte.
As time progressed, she began doing things out of character. Taking the car and leaving the house with no destination, telling confusing stories, asking for odd things and eventually taking off and walking to places with no reason or recollection.
In February of 2017... Patte was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. This means that she no longer can control her behavior, recall any short term memory and the Patte as we knew her has faded.
What Now? When Patte got diagnosed I ultimately made the decision to retire from teaching to serve as her sole caregiver-not to mention I was recovering from surgery oral cancer. As time has gone on it has been a challenge to help care for her full time. Not to mention- we also lost our car in an electrical fire. So now we have no means of transportation to and from doctors appointments other than borrowing our daughters car.
At the present time Patte needs 24/7 care, that I can no longer handle on my own. As I struggle with my own health issues we have come to the extremely hard decision to place Patte in Memory Care full time. So not only can we improve her quality of life, but I can also care for myself so I can be there for her, as well as my children and grand children.
How can you help? As I type this I am still in the hospital recovering from another surgery and Patte is currently in respite care (temporary memory care). When we originally placed her, we were afraid this would be the hardest thing we ever did for her stability, however it was the exact opposite. Patte is thankfully thriving! While we have her in temporary care, we are hoping to keep her placed permenatly so we don't disrupt the progress that she has made at Autumn Leaves.
We could really use urgent help since both my daughter and I have depleted our savings in order to pay for her care up until now. While I try to sort out selling our house to continue to pay for it in the long run ANY donation can help us move forward on what is best for my wife and myself. For those that know me, you know I don't usually reach out for any help whatsoever, but I am. My wife needs the best care she can get and I am doing whatever I can to accomplish that.
If you cannot financially donate, please just help by sharing this post. I truly am a blessed man to have the friends and family that have helped with prayers, love and support that is given daily. You are all wonderful people and my family is very lucky to have you all.
Thank you so much,
Vince Rohloff
Organizer
Vince Rohloff
Organizer
Grand Prairie, TX