Elderly Mom Needs Help
Donation protected
My mom, whom I am named after Ruby M. Karmann (I am Ruby L Karmann..I always said the M stood for mother) She is a special woman. She was born in 1929. Her mother died when she was young in childbirth along with her sister and they are buried on a reservation down in Oklahoma. For some time her father took her on the rails where he worked and she lived in hobo camps and on the road with him. Sometimes he would leave her at the camps and the people took care of her while he had to go to work at another location. My grandmother who adopted my mom offered to take her and raise her and her father left her with the only grandparents I knew on that side of the family to raise. She never heard from him again, till one night when I was little we was sitting at supper table and a sheriff came to the door and told her he was there to notify her of his passing. Through the years she has found brothers she didnt know she had and lived through some hard times. She found her faith and if anyone is a example of God's children, she has been. She has taken in strangers no one else would, she has given to people as long as I can remember. Many have abused her kindness and she does not get angry, she just does what she can for people, if there is a need. She got involved in boy scouts years ago and she loves being involved in it and loves the families and kids she is a part of. I went to a banquet with her in February and the love that is given to her there by the kids and their families just made me cry to see. Her eyes light up and you see such joy in her by being there. She loved showing me her boy scout family. She gives so much and expects so little back. There is no stranger to her, and she will help anyone, and always has. She got mugged once, and she thought the mugger was in need, so she took the money out of her shoe that he was not aware of and gave it to him. She thought he was in need. Doesn't matter who you are, and even if she doesn't have enough for herself she will give to others. Her kindness and faith in God has always been a inspiration to anyone who has known her. Anyone that knows her, knows I am blessed with a wonderful mother.
In the last few years, my brother who use to help her physically in fixing things has had his cancer take away his ability to do this. So her house has become in disrepair.
I have tried to help in fixing things and doing what I can, and am already in debt myself for the last trip of repairs. She hides the needs knowing the cost is hard on me, and she can't afford to fix. My first trip home when I became aware of her extreme needs, I found more disrepair and at that time I could physically or financially was not able to do much for her, many friends stepped in to help with what they could. She had no running water in her kitchen due to her plumbing going bad. Needing a exterminator in the worse way, and just a huge mess that I had no idea was going on. Through the years since then, my trips home have consisted of repairs and cleaning and working my tailbone off in what I could do in three or four days, each time coming back home in debt and seeing and worrying about how much more needs done. One year I could not afford to get her a new toliet and make the trip down to see her so I went a year and a half without getting to see her so she could have a toliet that actually flushed. The year before that because of friends, whom I can never repay for their kindness and help we got the plumbing fixed so she was not heating water on the stove and living out of her bathroom sink. Little did I know the new plumbing blew out the plumbing in the wall and just after I left the kitchen would flood and she went back to living out of her bathroom, doing her dishes in the bathroom and trying not to cook much so she didn't have to do pots and pans in there. Her microwave blew up, her screendoor glass was broken and never repaired and she had a piece of linoleum she just laid on the kitchen floor because the floor she had was just gone. She doesn't tell me when I call her because she knows I will try to fix things even when I cant afford it, or that she will have to leave her home because she cant afford to fix these things. She is happy in her home, it just needs to have things fixed to make it safe for her. My last trip down, I found all these things needing fixing and I didn't have the money to fix them so I charged them and still owe on them. I am going down next week to be there for a appointment with in home elderly services to have 3 hours a week cleaning help because she doesn't understand what they are about, they scare her, and so she is refusing their help, so I am going down, with the money I put back to go get married on to see what help I can get for her and to see what else I can do to help her.
Although I did a Go Find Me page to help a friend here, where I live in SD, that needed help, I never once connected to using this as a option to help my mom. It just never crossed my mind, even though I did it for a friend. I just assumed that I needed to take care of my mom since my older brother who always did, passed away, too young and too soon. His family does what they can, but they have young families to raise and can only do what they can too. They have helped in labor and as much as they can in cost. I haven't done all of it without their help in what they could do.
I have been praying for answers because I learned two days ago that her furnace in it's old age died, she actually had gas filling her house up and could of died herself. Fortunately my brother that is ill found out and got the gas shut off. The furnace people said they can't fix the furnace it is too rusted and too old and there is no parts that can make it well, and that she can't have a basement as a floor furnace anymore because they just dont make them. To save money for years she has been carrying in wood and using a wood burning stove so her bills stay affordable, and people of the community has been bringing her wood. 87 years old and she carrys in wood and strokes a fire, and even cuts the wood at times, to save on heatring expense. WOW!!
She is being told that she has to give up the wood stove to put in a furnace or the cost will be huge to put a furnace in. I am assuming that it will, at the least, cost $1000.00. She doesn't have it and I don't have it.
That's why I have been praying. Last time I was home, she has shingles for a roof laying on the ground, and a roof that is disintegrating, I dont think I have ever seen a roof so bad. I asked her who is doing the roof and when are they doing it, she doesn't seem to know, just says it will get done, but she doesn't even know the name of the person doing it, her house is half painted. She said someone started it, but then quit and never came back.
She doesn't drive and she has a motorized wheelchair that she goes around to pay bills and go to the store in good weather. Probably a lot of you JC people see her out on it, I always hear on facebook that people see her out tooling around on it. She likes to keep it in her living room out of the elements. Every time I come home she has made a ramp up a very steep set of steps that not only she should not be riding it up on, but at her age she should not be going up and down on. During the summer she keeps it on a porch that is not weather tight but she says is okay because it isnt cold during the summer. But not a good place for it with the dampness and heat. A wonderful man in Manhattan keeps it running for her and as far as I know he does it out of the generousity of his heart. She says people stop who she doesnt know and helps her push it up these ramps. I can understand why..I would freak if I saw a little elderly lady trying to ride her wheelchair up a makeshift ramp made out of concrete blocks and odds and ends planking up a ramp at that angle with no railing or support. I tear them down when I come home, but when I come back she has built them again in desparation to protect her only means of transportation (in her eyes), She hates asking people for rides.
February when I was home I called a guy I was referred to and he said due to the angle it would cost several thousand dollars for him to do up a ramp to code. I was referred to another place that had soldiers that help with projects and they said without a permit and codes and someone that knew them to supervise their workers they wouldnt be able to help me. They referred me to another place and basically they told me to put her in a home somewhere...anyway...no help in trying to keep her where she is happiest at.
She is far from being a invalid, she is just poor and elderly and needs help.
I will beg, already have borrowed...wont steal...but will beg for my mom and getting help for her. So I have prayed for God to point me in the right direction and to give me the options to look at to help her out.
The other night, and as I said, I never even connected to using this to help her, otherwise I would of years ago, I prayed before I went to bed for God to send me help. I woke out of a dead sleep at 4am in the morning and the first thing that I thought was three words "go fund me". I couldn't go back to sleep, I was so freaked out that I had never even considered this in all these years. So here I am.
Too me my goal is really really high, probably need more than that, I haven't a clue. I am hoping this will reach people, who may not be able to help financially but be able to help physically to do some of these things. If I cant reach the goal, any help is help and to me is God sent, because I believe he sent me here to find help, it sure wasn't something I had thought of doing, but should of...just never connected the dots to do.
So here I am, asking you, whoever you are that may be reading this, to help. If you can't financially, than maybe physically, or if neither, than just passing this on, and having your friends pass this on and their friends pass this on, telling your neighbors, your church, your family, maybe just a dollar. I just feel in my heart God sent me here to ask for help and if help can be found it will be here because I really don't have any other ideas. If I can't get help here, than just will keep on praying and I know God will send what he feels she needs. If staying there in her own home is not what he sees best for her than he will send me the ability to find what she does need.
Thank you for anything you can do. I know God sent you to do whatever you can do. I thank him for sending me you.
In the last few years, my brother who use to help her physically in fixing things has had his cancer take away his ability to do this. So her house has become in disrepair.
I have tried to help in fixing things and doing what I can, and am already in debt myself for the last trip of repairs. She hides the needs knowing the cost is hard on me, and she can't afford to fix. My first trip home when I became aware of her extreme needs, I found more disrepair and at that time I could physically or financially was not able to do much for her, many friends stepped in to help with what they could. She had no running water in her kitchen due to her plumbing going bad. Needing a exterminator in the worse way, and just a huge mess that I had no idea was going on. Through the years since then, my trips home have consisted of repairs and cleaning and working my tailbone off in what I could do in three or four days, each time coming back home in debt and seeing and worrying about how much more needs done. One year I could not afford to get her a new toliet and make the trip down to see her so I went a year and a half without getting to see her so she could have a toliet that actually flushed. The year before that because of friends, whom I can never repay for their kindness and help we got the plumbing fixed so she was not heating water on the stove and living out of her bathroom sink. Little did I know the new plumbing blew out the plumbing in the wall and just after I left the kitchen would flood and she went back to living out of her bathroom, doing her dishes in the bathroom and trying not to cook much so she didn't have to do pots and pans in there. Her microwave blew up, her screendoor glass was broken and never repaired and she had a piece of linoleum she just laid on the kitchen floor because the floor she had was just gone. She doesn't tell me when I call her because she knows I will try to fix things even when I cant afford it, or that she will have to leave her home because she cant afford to fix these things. She is happy in her home, it just needs to have things fixed to make it safe for her. My last trip down, I found all these things needing fixing and I didn't have the money to fix them so I charged them and still owe on them. I am going down next week to be there for a appointment with in home elderly services to have 3 hours a week cleaning help because she doesn't understand what they are about, they scare her, and so she is refusing their help, so I am going down, with the money I put back to go get married on to see what help I can get for her and to see what else I can do to help her.
Although I did a Go Find Me page to help a friend here, where I live in SD, that needed help, I never once connected to using this as a option to help my mom. It just never crossed my mind, even though I did it for a friend. I just assumed that I needed to take care of my mom since my older brother who always did, passed away, too young and too soon. His family does what they can, but they have young families to raise and can only do what they can too. They have helped in labor and as much as they can in cost. I haven't done all of it without their help in what they could do.
I have been praying for answers because I learned two days ago that her furnace in it's old age died, she actually had gas filling her house up and could of died herself. Fortunately my brother that is ill found out and got the gas shut off. The furnace people said they can't fix the furnace it is too rusted and too old and there is no parts that can make it well, and that she can't have a basement as a floor furnace anymore because they just dont make them. To save money for years she has been carrying in wood and using a wood burning stove so her bills stay affordable, and people of the community has been bringing her wood. 87 years old and she carrys in wood and strokes a fire, and even cuts the wood at times, to save on heatring expense. WOW!!
She is being told that she has to give up the wood stove to put in a furnace or the cost will be huge to put a furnace in. I am assuming that it will, at the least, cost $1000.00. She doesn't have it and I don't have it.
That's why I have been praying. Last time I was home, she has shingles for a roof laying on the ground, and a roof that is disintegrating, I dont think I have ever seen a roof so bad. I asked her who is doing the roof and when are they doing it, she doesn't seem to know, just says it will get done, but she doesn't even know the name of the person doing it, her house is half painted. She said someone started it, but then quit and never came back.
She doesn't drive and she has a motorized wheelchair that she goes around to pay bills and go to the store in good weather. Probably a lot of you JC people see her out on it, I always hear on facebook that people see her out tooling around on it. She likes to keep it in her living room out of the elements. Every time I come home she has made a ramp up a very steep set of steps that not only she should not be riding it up on, but at her age she should not be going up and down on. During the summer she keeps it on a porch that is not weather tight but she says is okay because it isnt cold during the summer. But not a good place for it with the dampness and heat. A wonderful man in Manhattan keeps it running for her and as far as I know he does it out of the generousity of his heart. She says people stop who she doesnt know and helps her push it up these ramps. I can understand why..I would freak if I saw a little elderly lady trying to ride her wheelchair up a makeshift ramp made out of concrete blocks and odds and ends planking up a ramp at that angle with no railing or support. I tear them down when I come home, but when I come back she has built them again in desparation to protect her only means of transportation (in her eyes), She hates asking people for rides.
February when I was home I called a guy I was referred to and he said due to the angle it would cost several thousand dollars for him to do up a ramp to code. I was referred to another place that had soldiers that help with projects and they said without a permit and codes and someone that knew them to supervise their workers they wouldnt be able to help me. They referred me to another place and basically they told me to put her in a home somewhere...anyway...no help in trying to keep her where she is happiest at.
She is far from being a invalid, she is just poor and elderly and needs help.
I will beg, already have borrowed...wont steal...but will beg for my mom and getting help for her. So I have prayed for God to point me in the right direction and to give me the options to look at to help her out.
The other night, and as I said, I never even connected to using this to help her, otherwise I would of years ago, I prayed before I went to bed for God to send me help. I woke out of a dead sleep at 4am in the morning and the first thing that I thought was three words "go fund me". I couldn't go back to sleep, I was so freaked out that I had never even considered this in all these years. So here I am.
Too me my goal is really really high, probably need more than that, I haven't a clue. I am hoping this will reach people, who may not be able to help financially but be able to help physically to do some of these things. If I cant reach the goal, any help is help and to me is God sent, because I believe he sent me here to find help, it sure wasn't something I had thought of doing, but should of...just never connected the dots to do.
So here I am, asking you, whoever you are that may be reading this, to help. If you can't financially, than maybe physically, or if neither, than just passing this on, and having your friends pass this on and their friends pass this on, telling your neighbors, your church, your family, maybe just a dollar. I just feel in my heart God sent me here to ask for help and if help can be found it will be here because I really don't have any other ideas. If I can't get help here, than just will keep on praying and I know God will send what he feels she needs. If staying there in her own home is not what he sees best for her than he will send me the ability to find what she does need.
Thank you for anything you can do. I know God sent you to do whatever you can do. I thank him for sending me you.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ruby Karmann
Organizer
Junction City, KS
Ruby Karmann
Beneficiary
