How can we help a dear friend who has spent her entire life caring for and doing everything in her power to help others and never asking for help herself? Now she desperately needs help, and we are trying to ease her many burdens as she would do for us and everyone else. We are Amy Burns, her cousin, and Penny Shields, her dear friend.

Tiffany is a single mother and grandmother who has cared for her two grandbabies since they were infants. They are now three and six. Her job and only source of income is caring for elderly adults in a housing high-rise in her community of Streator. She goes beyond what is required of her to make sure her clients have whatever they need.

In the past five years, her 65-year-old mother Joyce’s health declined a great deal. They had an amazing bond. Tiffany moved into what was her grandmother’s small house, when her grandmother was alive, in Streator to care for her mother. The house was, and still is, in need of many repairs. She lovingly promised Joyce she would always take care of her. She worked through the day caring for her elderly clients and came home to care for her mother and two grandbabies. Joyce’s health continued to deteriorate, and Tiffany’s days were filled with doctor and specialist appointments and hospitalizations 2 hours away. Tiffany had to take days off of work for these appointments and many times was called away from work because Joyce was taken by ambulance to the ER. When she did work, she often took her grandbabies with her because she couldn’t afford to take any more time off. Yet, she never asked for help. The stress of loss of income and her mother’s health affected Tiffany’s health. She had migraines and lost weight. She often would not eat or get enough sleep caring for everyone else. Eventually, Joyce could not be left alone due to uncontrolled seizure activity, her diabetes, tumors discovered in her lungs, progressive dementia, and falls and many symptoms not yet fully diagnosed.

On March 7th, Tiffany was driving her grandbabies to Iowa to visit their paternal grandmother. On the way, she received a call from her neighbor that her mother was en route to the hospital by ambulance. Her world fell apart. It took 3 hours to drive back home to the hospital to see her mother, then on life support. Sadly, Joyce passed away at 3:19 am without regaining consciousness—Joyce’s own mother’s birthdate.

Tiffany is devastated. She has no money to pay the funeral home. She had to take so much time off work to care for her mother that it was financially devastating. She needs to move to a rental house for her and her grandbabies due to lead very recently discovered in the house, but has no money for moving, deposit, or first month’s rent. She is not working right now as she is handling her mother’s affairs, mourning her loss, and helping her two young granddaughters who miss their “Noni” tremendously try to understand and grieve. They can be found often laying on her bed . Joyce was loved very deeply.

We are asking for donations to pay the funeral home, to catch up on bills she could not pay while not working so she could be with her mother, to pay the deposit and 2 months' rent on a rental house with a bedroom for her 2 granddaughters and herself. This will allow her to get reestablished and return to her job. The She is lost with no idea of how to go forward. She would be the first to help anyone in this position in any way she could. A donation of any amount would be such a blessing to her and she, and we, would be forever grateful.