The Worth of a Life
Donation protected
...is measured by the dollar. In particular, my mother's life is valued at somewhere around five-thousand dollars. I rarely divulge my private life like this, but I'm honestly at the end of my rope and will reach out to anyone offering a hand up from the hole I'm in. My mother is a 54-year-old diabetic, kidney transplant patient, and two-time breast cancer survivor. In my life, she has been one of the strongest motivating factors towards me becoming the person I am today. She's raised me, often at times solely on her own, and now struggles just to get by. Nine years ago, my step-father passed away due to complications from a stroke. I was there when they called the time of death; I remember she barely cried, attempting to keep a straight face for the family despite her voice wavering. Despite the loss, she kept a roof over my little sister's head, provided for her, and even when she lost her house over a year ago, she kept strong and always tried to move forward.
My mother, in every sense of the word, is a survivalist.
This year, I had to go and rescue her out of a horrible living environment. She had an intensive spinal operation in December that has left her mobility hampered. She can't walk without assistance, can't change clothes without help, can't drive. Can't do anything, really. She'd been living since the operation in a bad neighborhood, sleeping on basically a floor or lawn chair, without any cushion, no furniture, very little food, and yet she never told me the full details of how bad it was to keep me from overreacting as I am wont to do - and rushing to her aid. When I got there, I was appalled that nobody else in my family had done anything about it. Basically left her for dead. I moved her to my state to stay with me. But due to series of unfortunate events, everything she owns is about to be lost. The storage company holding everything she's ever owned is asking she pay five-thousand dollars by early March, else they'll auction off everything. My mother, due to disability, makes only maybe 300-400 dollars from the government a month. That's it. She can't work. I can't make nearly enough to help her even if I worked every single day and night.
Now, I understand items are just items. I understand that when you put things into storage and are unable to pay the fees, that's just something you have to accept. But this is nearly twenty years of a woman's life. Marriage photo albums, trinkets my grandmother passed down after her death, little crafts I'd made her as a kid that somehow she clung on to over the years, family events all woven into tokens and things one may never replace no matter how desperately you look. I didn't think about it at first, but at 50-something, she's aware her time is limited. She can't just 'start over' like I can, just letting go of the 'things' as some may see them. For her, that is her past, and virtually her future. I took her and my sister out to eat to try and shake her out of her depression. When I got back, I decided to game into the early morning. At some point, she messaged me on skype, despite being in the very next room:
"Thank you son, I really needed to get out and stop stressing over my furniture, this morning I was so sick that I was throwing up and having diarrhea at the same time. All night and day my stomach was in knots and tonight was my first bite today or yesterday. I was even throwing up blood before we left. So thank you thank you baby and I really love and need you these days. And if you happen to come across an entrepreneur that has a soft spot and willing to lend or donate 5000.00 by March for your mother tell them I would greatly appreciate it. My heart is about to break if I lose my wedding pictures and your dad's funeral book and that unicorn you brought me and the rock I painted for my mom when I was about 12..."
It went on. But I don't want to share any more. It's heartbreaking for me to revisit. Just hearing her cry as I walked by her room...
I'm asking for any help or assistance. If anyone knows a number I can call, or anyone who's been in a similar situation and had something work out for them. Hell, just kind words of encouragement—anything. I don't ever reach out to anyone for help. I've always tried to handle my problems on my own. But right now, this...watching my mother deteriorate right in front of me...I can't do this alone.
Someone please help me.
My mother, in every sense of the word, is a survivalist.
This year, I had to go and rescue her out of a horrible living environment. She had an intensive spinal operation in December that has left her mobility hampered. She can't walk without assistance, can't change clothes without help, can't drive. Can't do anything, really. She'd been living since the operation in a bad neighborhood, sleeping on basically a floor or lawn chair, without any cushion, no furniture, very little food, and yet she never told me the full details of how bad it was to keep me from overreacting as I am wont to do - and rushing to her aid. When I got there, I was appalled that nobody else in my family had done anything about it. Basically left her for dead. I moved her to my state to stay with me. But due to series of unfortunate events, everything she owns is about to be lost. The storage company holding everything she's ever owned is asking she pay five-thousand dollars by early March, else they'll auction off everything. My mother, due to disability, makes only maybe 300-400 dollars from the government a month. That's it. She can't work. I can't make nearly enough to help her even if I worked every single day and night.
Now, I understand items are just items. I understand that when you put things into storage and are unable to pay the fees, that's just something you have to accept. But this is nearly twenty years of a woman's life. Marriage photo albums, trinkets my grandmother passed down after her death, little crafts I'd made her as a kid that somehow she clung on to over the years, family events all woven into tokens and things one may never replace no matter how desperately you look. I didn't think about it at first, but at 50-something, she's aware her time is limited. She can't just 'start over' like I can, just letting go of the 'things' as some may see them. For her, that is her past, and virtually her future. I took her and my sister out to eat to try and shake her out of her depression. When I got back, I decided to game into the early morning. At some point, she messaged me on skype, despite being in the very next room:
"Thank you son, I really needed to get out and stop stressing over my furniture, this morning I was so sick that I was throwing up and having diarrhea at the same time. All night and day my stomach was in knots and tonight was my first bite today or yesterday. I was even throwing up blood before we left. So thank you thank you baby and I really love and need you these days. And if you happen to come across an entrepreneur that has a soft spot and willing to lend or donate 5000.00 by March for your mother tell them I would greatly appreciate it. My heart is about to break if I lose my wedding pictures and your dad's funeral book and that unicorn you brought me and the rock I painted for my mom when I was about 12..."
It went on. But I don't want to share any more. It's heartbreaking for me to revisit. Just hearing her cry as I walked by her room...
I'm asking for any help or assistance. If anyone knows a number I can call, or anyone who's been in a similar situation and had something work out for them. Hell, just kind words of encouragement—anything. I don't ever reach out to anyone for help. I've always tried to handle my problems on my own. But right now, this...watching my mother deteriorate right in front of me...I can't do this alone.
Someone please help me.
Organizer and beneficiary
Dequitta Taylor
Organizer
Orlando, FL
Dequitta Taylor
Beneficiary