When Valerie was accepted to live in a memory care facility, it was both good news and sad news. Good news in that she would get more care than we could provide. Sad news in that it was a stage for her and her disease that only confirmed the direness and finality of her situation. Remember, FTD affects many younger people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. There are not a lot of options for these people. In home care is expensive and usually, at some point, reaches a point where it’s impossible to safely care for the person.
Memory care facilities typically house older patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Whether or not they can take in a younger, more energetic person with FTD is, I’m guessing, decided on a case-by-case basis. For Valerie, we were fortunate to find a facility that understood the challenges in caring for Valerie and took them on. They were patient with us in interviews and in getting paperwork. Getting her into a place was a miracle, really. A really expensive miracle.
GOFUNDME – Make A Difference for Valerie, FTD fighter
The gofundme campaign we’ve started will hopefully offset some of Valerie’s rent at the memory care facility. If you prefer to use PayPal or Venmo, that is fine also. No amount is too small. Valerie, and indirectly her family supporting her, need all the help we can get.
If you have any questions about how the money is used, or questions about Valerie’s condition, feel free to message me. All the money will go into Valerie’s (new) bank account which is audited by SLO County court officials, as she is now a conservatee of me and her sister Lori.
You can also send money via PayPal to markw24 [at] gmail. com or Venmo to @Mark-Wiberg-1
Tough Gal Val - living with frontotemporal dementia 