In 2025, my mother Flossie Mae Robinson was living in an apartment in the West side of Chicago, with my two brothers, where she had resided for over two decades.

Prior to my mother's diagnosis of advanced dementia, I regularly visited her at her Austin apartment. My mother's generosity and great spirit rubbed off on me, and before I retired from my 20+ year at Fedex, I was able to supply her with whatever she needed.

Flossie Mae Robinson will be 83 years old in December. She is a caring and generous person, who helped everybody before her diagnosis. She is a lively storyteller and loves to dance and make jokes. She is a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, a steadfast churchgoer and community member. Before retirement, she was a schoolteacher and Sunday school teacher, as well as a retail manager. She is a Sagittarius, she loves the Bible, her children, grandchildren, and extended family. When I told her my problems, she told me "these things come out by fasting and praying."

As her illness advanced, her apartment fell into deplorable conditions, unfit for a woman of advanced age, hosting several infestations and a hole in the ceiling. My mother continued to live here as her disease advanced, and no doubt the apartment's conditions contributed to her diagnosis.

It wasn't until August of this year that I was able to rescue my mother from her apartment. She was taken to West Suburban hospital where she was diagnosed with advanced dementia. On August 15th, she was moved into a Memory Care, Assisted Living center where she needs 24/7 help and skilled nursing in a locked facility located in Naperville, Illinois.

When she went in she had nothing to her name, barely clothed, no socks, no shoes, nothing. She was malnourished and confused. Her condition has improved significantly at the facility. She's put on weight and enjoys regular visits from me and her extended family.

As her daughter, I am solely responsible for her welfare. Her monthly bills total a thousand dollars a month, which is barely covered by her monthly social security.

In order to continue caring for my mother and support our journey, I am asking for $5000 to cover additional expenses to insure my mother's safety, emotional wellbeing, and medical need. These expenses include clothing, housing at the facility, funeral insurance (she cannot get a life policy because of her dementia diagnosis), and occasional light meals. In addition to these costs, I need to cover travel expenses to and from the assisted living facility and additional extended care funds as I navigate my mother's illness.

If you can give anything, please consider helping my mother and I now as we navigate this journey. As a dementia daughter, I am dedicated to her well-being and happiness. Dementia didn't come with a planner, it came with a loving daughter.

Flossie is pictured above with her great-niece Keisha at the Assisted Living facility in Naperville, Illinois, where she currently resides.