Cordelia's Mom, Still

Blessings Received! Thank You!

Posted on July 1, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Creighton is home!

He’s a bit weak and still has some cognitive issues, but it’s hoped that with time his ability to speak normally will return. For now, his mom is staying with him at his own apartment until he is stronger and able to resume driving and return to work (which – being a young, overly confident man – Creighton thinks will be tomorrow … ).

There was a tremendous response to our prayer requests and to the GoFundMe, and Creighton’s family and I are extremely grateful. Some of the responses were from total strangers – I can’t even express how heart-warming that is.

Thank you, everyone. You did a great job for my family.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Tia and used with the family’s permission

Posted in Health, That's Life | Tagged Creighton, GoFundMe, prayers | 15 Comments

Even Non-Religious People Pray Sometimes

Posted on June 27, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

This is my nephew, Creighton. He is 30 years old and fighting for his life.

Creighton is an outdoorsman, very fit and healthy. Until –

He came down with a virus of some kind, which progressed to double pneumonia. When he was unable to fight the virus off by himself, his mom took him to Olean General Hospital in Olean, New York. There, it was discovered that the virus had also attacked his heart, and he was airlifted to Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo, New York for more specialized cardiac care.

At Buffalo General, he was admitted directly to the ICU for 24/7 monitoring and care. Four days later, he went into cardic arrest and was clinically dead for 4 minutes, but medical staff was eventually able to resuscitate him. He was put on a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma. He was then taken into emergency surgery for insertion of a heart pump, after which the decision was made to transfer him to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York for even more specialized cardiac care.

I don’t want to go into all the gruesome details, but let it suffice to say that Creighton and his family have been going through absolute hell. Calls for prayers went out and received a tremendous response from relatives, friends, friends of friends, and even strangers who just happened to see the social media posts.

And apparently the prayers worked. Creighton is now conscious, able to vocalize, and has even managed to contact a few of his friends. The heart pump has been removed, and he is fighting his way back to health. He is still very weak, has some cognitive deficits (which may clear up in time), but he is expected to eventually gain nearly full health.

As everyone who follows me knows, I am one of the most non-religious persons on the face of the earth, but in times of extreme stress I pray just like everyone else.

And we are all still praying for Creighton’s continued improvement. We welcome additional prayers from any of my readers who are so inclined.

Creighton is still in the ICU and will be in the hospital for some time. Medical personnel are still struggling to remove fluid from his heart and lungs, and Creighton lost a good deal of blood during removal of the heart pump. Every day continues to be a physical and emotional roller coaster ride for Creighton and his family, but each day there is a little more hope. Once he eventually is released, he will likely need extensive care at home. He will be unable to return to work for a long time.

As you can imagine, even with health insurance, the medical bills will be astronomical, likely in the neighborhood of $1M US just for the medical expenses. Beyond the medical costs, there are expenses for family members who have stayed in Rochester in order to be with Creighton throughout his illness. (Like his mom, who has refused to leave his side, and his dad and sisters who continually travel back and forth between home and Rochester.) At this point, there’s no way to estimate what the long-term costs will be once Creighton is home, but they’re likely to be more than anyone in the family can manage.

Therefore, a GoFundMe has been set up to help defray some of Creighton’s current and future expenses. If anyone is able, and willing, to donate, the link is:

https://gofund.me/20ca1a1f

Every penny will be greatly appreciated and will go a long way towards comforting Creighton and his family. No one should have to worry about finances while dealing with a seriously ill family member, but unfortunately that’s too often the case these days.

Even if you are unable to donate financially, please give Creighton and his family your prayers and well wishes. I’ve come to believe that all those positive vibes do somehow make a difference.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Tia and used with the family’s permission

Posted in Health, That's Life | Tagged Creighton, GoFundMe | 18 Comments

Call Out to An Old Friend

Posted on June 12, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

Hopefully, you know I mean you, and you’re actually reading this post.

You recently joined Branded Surveys, most likely through the link in my last post. I was so surprised, and pleased, to see your name pop up in the notifications on that site. I wanted to send you a message to thank you and to catch up since it’s been so many years, but was unable to find you on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Send me an email (cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com) – we simply have to reminisce about that old grouch we both knew!

***

So, everyone else is asking, how are things going with you, CM?

Pretty much same old, same old. Still some pain in my right leg, and I’ve now decided to use a cane whenever I’m walking in public to, hopefully, avoid any embarrassing falls. Plus, a cane can come in handy for other uses, like pulling something off the top shelf at the grocery store, or knocking someone else out of the way who might reach for the very last one of an item I want (not that I would ever actually do that, but the thought does cross my mind occasionally).

Most of my day is spent doing those paid surveys I spoke about previously. It’s not a lot of money, and it’s somewhat sporadic – some days there are a lot of surveys and some days there are few, if any. But all in all, I’ve managed to pay for several Amazon orders using points I’ve earned from the surveys. Heck, I can either sit around playing videogames all day, or I can sit around earning a few dollars answering silly questions. Easy decision, right?

Some of the surveys are actually fun. Considering the current political climate, there have been a lot of political ads to review and rate. I can’t give specifics, of course, but I must say some of the ads are downright amusing. And I get a bit of a thrill when a news station reports that the “most recent polls say …,” knowing I was part of those polls.

I get booted off a lot of the surveys due to age, or the fact that I don’t shop much and never travel, but then again, some of the polls actually want the opinions of us senior citizens. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

It’s a bit of a crap shoot. I say that because I don’t want friends who have joined me to become discouraged if they don’t suddenly become rich doing paid surveys. Don’t forget: I literally can sit at the computer all day and catch every questionnaire that comes my way. Even then, the payoffs are only enough to provide pin money, for books or other small items. I’m ok with that; it’s money that I don’t have to take out of my very limited monthly budget.

Which budget is strained to the max at the moment.

I managed to bring the auto insurance premium back down by uploading the defensive driving certificates, increasing the deductible, and submitting a form attesting to my significantly reduced mileage now that I no longer work – but the premium will still be higher this coming year than it was last year. As will pretty much every other bill I pay, while my income is fixed.

I don’t know how young families with children are surviving in today’s economy. Housing costs, health care expenses, and food prices are horrendous. To those of you who are living paycheck to paycheck and barely managing to feed and clothe yourself and your kids: you have my total sympathy. I wish I could help you, but I’m struggling, too.

Of course, it could be much, much worse. I just keep reminding myself of those years, long ago, when I was happy to have $5 left at the end of the month, or if I didn’t have $5 cash, at least there was that much room left on one of the credit cards. It was no way to live then, and I hope to not have to start living that way again now. I never was much of a fan of Ramen noodles …

But I do keep canned goods and household essentials stocked up, just in case.

May life wherever you are be treating you kindly.

Hugs, all.

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page (@cordeliasmom), or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio

Posted in That's Life | Tagged budget, making ends meet, paid surveys | 5 Comments

Pennies Earned Are Pennies Saved

Posted on May 20, 2024 by cordeliasmom2012

When I was in my 20s, I envisioned a retirement filled with leisure activities and without financial concerns. I would somehow make my mark on the world and become, if not wealthy, at least a solid member of the upper middle class.

Life does like to throw monkey wrenches into the works, doesn’t it?

My early jobs were before the creation of 401-Ks, IRAs and the like, and my later career was for an employer who did not offer such benefits. We were living paycheck to paycheck, and there was seldom any money left to put into savings.

So, like many other folks in my generation, I’m now faced with a retirement based solely on Social Security. Fortunately, having worked for so many years, my monthly benefits are slightly higher than average, but still not enough for anyone to actually live on comfortably.

Sure, I can manage to meet the monthly mortgage and utility payments, my car payment and gas to put in the car, but there’s very little left for extras. And that “very little” is constantly declining due to increases in property taxes and insurance.

The budget got totally blown out of the water recently when I recived a notice that the auto insurance policy would increase by $100 a month in June.

Once my heart stopped palpitating, I called the insurance company to find out why. Happily, it’s an easy fix – it turns out that hubby’s and my defensive driving courses need to be renewed. I’ve completed mine and hubby is halfway through his (and that’s a story for another time), so the premiums will eventually go back down to where they were, or at least close to it (naturally, there’s an increase every year regardless of the status of the defensive driving course).

I’m assuming the mortgage and homeowner insurance expenses will also rise again this year. Hubby may be forced to retire soon, and we will have to purchase our own health insurance. The premiums and out-of pocket expenses on Medicare Part B will be more than half of what hubby will collect from Social Security, which means we’ll have to cut our grocery bill significantly. At that point we maybe could get rid of one vehicle, but that really won’t make a lot of difference in the amount going out the door every month.

So I’m stressing out a bit over finances. I even considered going back to work, but physically I just can’t do it. Even if I could, who would hire a 72-year-old senior citizen who’s not in very good shape?

Searching online for freelance jobs that could be done from home, I came across an article outlining ways for people to get a little extra cash. One of the ways is taking paid surveys. I’ve done that in the past and made very little money, but needs must. Out of curiosity (and to be truthful, perhaps a bit of desperation), I went onto the Branded Surveys site and enrolled. If nothing else, taking surveys can be fun – and it’s nice to be the respondent instead of the surveyor for a change.

Really, I didn’t expect much. But I was pleasantly surprised. I made enough last week to put in a very nice Amazon order.

Since I’m sitting at the computer all day anyway, it’s easy to take surveys rather than play videogames and it’s enticing to know that, even though payment is minimal, I maybe can earn enough to keep me in books and yarn. Well, at least for now. My Social Security benefits will never change (except for the annual cost-of-living increase), but my monthly expenses (like the mortgage) will continue to rise until it gets to the point where hubby and I can no longer stay in this house. Hopefully that won’t be for a few more years.

I try not to worry too much about what’s going to happen when I can no longer afford my home and food. No one seems to care about old white folks, so there really aren’t a lot of programs to help us. I checked and it seems that our combined Social Security benefits, although lower than most people earn in their first jobs, are still too high for us to qualify for food stamps or other government programs. Hubby and I will qualify for income-based senior housing, but the required rent of 30% of our combined Social Security income is still a lot more than we are paying now, which of course means (again) cutting back on groceries and forgoing any extras.

I try not to bring politics into my posts, but it seems to me that if the federal and/or state governments can spend $2400 a month, plus housing, plus medical expenses, plus food, for each of the “asylum seekers” who have flooded into this area, that there should be something in the coffers for senior citizens who have worked their entire lives and contributed into those programs. I’d love to have free housing, free medical, free food, and an extra $2400 a month, wouldn’t you?

But enough of that. By now some of you are thinking less of sweet old Cordelia’s Mom. I can handle losing my income, but I surely don’t want to lose my readers.