Hi all. I’m asking people to donate in order to raise money for comprehensive in-home care for my friend Ed’s mother, Hermelina.

Over the past 3 years, Hermelina’s independence, physical mobility, and ability to care for herself have declined significantly due to a string of health issues in the form of longstanding neuropathy, congestive heart failure, and chronic dizziness.

She is essentially bedridden and has lost the ability to manage life’s daily tasks on her own. When her situation became dire her son Edward moved back to Philadelphia to come to her aid. He cares for her daily but can no longer afford to remain at home with her as he is the primary breadwinner and needs to earn money to support them both. Hermelina qualifies for some government subsidies to fund in-home care (64 hours of PAS weekly) but it is not actually enough to cover the level of constant attention required to keep her safe, nourished , and healthy.

Hermelina also suffers from a deep bed sore (hole) on her lower back (chronic sacral decubitus) caused by inconsistent care that occurred before her son Edward could make it to Philadelphia to support her. This wound requires constant attention and cleaning to prevent serious complications like sepsis. I chose not to publish a photo of the injury here for fear of it being too graphic.

This page has been set up in the hopes of raising enough money to hire a 24-hour in-home caretaker for Hermelina as well as purchase the supplies necessary for her ongoing care (food, adult diapers, wet wipes, Ensure protein drinks for bone health, medications, and medical supplies to clean and dress her chronic sacral decubitus).

A donation in any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless.