Support Christy's Mom's Brain Surgery Recovery Journey

Because I was told I talk too much here the tl;dr:

Mom had a lemon-sized brain tumor removed.

we now need help bc she needs more PT than she’s getting, she needs her medications and she needs a cane. Shes 77 and a Marine vet who served in Nam and survived a fire bombing of her office. If you’d like to know the full story please read on. Thank you for your time!

_

Hi, my name is Christy and I’m trying to raise funds to help my 77-year-old mother to become at least self-sufficient though she will be living with me now.

She had a brain tumor the size of a lemon in her prefrontal cortex which, even with the tumor removed, she has a lot of healing to do.

She managed to walk without a walker now, but she really needs a cane. We go mall walking and she’s done after one floor. Her endurance and strength just are not there. She also lost 40 lbs of just muscle from being hospitalized so long.

She’s in physical therapy but she needs more than what Medicaid is giving her (1/2 hr every week, twice a week). We need to get more help with recovery in terms of memory and speech and physically walking and standing.

She can't do anything for herself and she gets confused when she tries to fix something as simple as instant ramen. So yes, her brain and body need therapy. She also needs a new glasses prescription, but I’m unemployed and disabled so I can’t get her the doctors she needs.

I just need some help and I’m not ashamed to ask for it because she almost died. I’m just glad she’s still alive but really I’ve done all I can do without asking for help because Medicare covered more of her hospital and the rest is up to me.

I am the only living family she has. And I am damn broke.

If we can just eke out another day's worth of PT each week and/or get her some thought and memory counseling, that would help so much.

My mom is usually active on her feet and ready to go at 8 am. Her years in the Marines are still in there. Oh yeah, she was a Marine in the '60s-'79. When they started trying for me, they both retired from the military. My dad was Army, my mom Marines. Both fought in Nam, my father a medic on the front lines, my mother worked in the offices which would be bombed or catch on fire each week.

She hasn’t had it easy but she never lets it show. Normally she’s happy, chipper, and always making a joke.

So now I’m looking to raise money to get her into speech and memory therapy and if we make enough, to get her a nice new cane and a pair of walking shoes that’ll give her that little oomph to get ahead.

It’s going beyond costs that we can afford, but it’s necessary, not fun times.

If you think this is worth $5, well that’s more than I had. I’ll welcome any donation with open arms. Really, I need help. My dad’s dead and both sets of grandparents are too, so it’s just me trying to take care of a headstrong 77-year-old whose brain isn’t operating at full capacity.

I have to drive her to each of her PT sessions too, so gas money would be great!

Really, I wouldn’t be asking if I could do this on my own.