Support grandma Sandi's memory care journey

Meet grandma Sandi: Lifelong churchgoer, amateur bowler, prolific letter writer, collector of all things sports and the sweetest soul you'll ever meet.

Sadly, she now has dementia and is in need of 24/7 care. I recently moved her into a memory care facility in Portland, Oregon, where she is thriving and making friends. But while I navigate the less than forgiving elderly care system, I need help paying for her facility, which costs nearly $8,000 a month, plus other assorted expenses. Currently, I do not have enough money to pay for March, having already drained my accounts getting her moved and situated, and urgently need your help.

Grandma's journey has been a long one. She is twice-widowed, she lost her daughter to cancer and more recently overcame her own battle with the disease, and last year she was diagnosed with a quickly progressing dementia.

Then, when my stepmother and I drove down to her Reedsport apartment in September to find her a better living situation, we found her on the floor, nearly unresponsive. We learned she fell hours earlier and suffered blood clots and pneumonia. At first we were given a grim assessment, but thanks to the doctors and nurses at Lower Umpqua Hospital, she regained her strength and her appetite.

My grandma, 81, is content in memory care and I want her to live out her remaining years as comfortably as possible. I am working to transition her to Medicaid so it can pay for her stay there, hopefully starting soon, but navigating lawyers and banks and courts and insurance has not been kind to me and has cost many thousands of dollars. Any help you can provide will be appreciated, and any funds raised beyond the goal will be dedicated to her continued care.

Sincerely,

Sandi's grandson, Zachariah Bryan