Urgent request for support for my deaf mom

Hi, my name is Rachel, and my mom, Sarah Masters, is a profoundly Deaf 84-year-old with mild-moderate dementia.

My mom grew up during a time & in a place where signing was forbidden in schools. Her hands would be whipped if she was caught signing. She and other Deaf children had to learn to speak and lipread, which was often arduous and ineffective. As a deaf, single mother, she fought for equality in the work world. In the 1970s and 1980s, there wasn't much equality or services for people who were Deaf.

With the lack of being educated in sign language, she received little education, which led to few, if any, job prospects. But my mom, being the force of nature she was, never gave up. She worked hard to ensure my sister, and I had shelter, food, and love.

Recently (over the past two weeks), my mom needed surgery for a dissected aorta. While in the hospital,her dementia took a decline and she experienced a lot of disorientation but with access to skilled ASL interpreters, she was able to receive consistent reminders in her own language which worked to calm her and reinforce understanding of her currrent condition and whereabouts. She had access to her health care, stimulation for her brain, and communication when my sister and I couldn't be there.

Last Wednesday, we needed to move her to rehab. I chose the one closest to my home because I knew that being there as often as possible would help in her healing but, more importantly, since in-person interpreting services are unavailable in these facilities, give her access to language via my fluency in sign language. But, as a daughter CODA (Child of Deaf Adult), I am all too familiar with interpreting for my mom. I've had to do it since I was two years old. It was not appropriate then, and it certainly isn't now. The presence and engagement of ASL interpreters for any Deaf person - particularly an elderly Deaf person - is a holistic lifeline in such critical, urgent situations like the one my mother is facing.

No rehab, assisted living, or nursing homes in NYC or NJ offer support for the Deaf. NONE. The closest facility to us is the New England Home for the Deaf in Massachusetts, one of the few in the USA. Currently she's in a rehab, alone, in a world of silence without access to communication many hours of the day.

My mom has a required spend down to receive Medicaid even though her lifetime earnings were small. My sister and I have supplemented her income for decades, even while in school. The facilities that only accept Medicaid are the only ones we can afford .

Deafness cuts people off from other people. She has a language and has ideas, and feelings that need to be expressed. Her dementia has made everything more difficult. She needs to be stimulated in her language to keep what she has and not decline further.

I aim to raise funds to pay for a sign language interpreter for an 8-hour day, every day, for four weeks. We hope to have her strong enough to return home as soon as possible.

Thank you for your support.