My mom has been sick for the last 6 months with a bunch of mystery symptoms that have stumped her doctors. After being in the hospital the last couple weeks she finally got a diagnosis of lymphoma.
My mom is 61 and she previously worked as an independent contractor so she didn't have insurance or a 401(k). My brother has had some mental health struggles over the past few years and my parents spent a lot to assist him in getting back on his feet, and then dad had a prolonged illness prior to hers and passed away a few years ago. All of their savings have been wiped out and then some. She still has a mortgage of about $65k on her house and has no other assets. She also has about $25k in credit card debt.
I make about $85k a year but I'm a single parent with one child in college and one who will be going in a couple years. I live in a modest house that needs a lot of work and drive a 13 year old car that is always on the verge of breakdown. I have been giving my mom at least $1200 a month to keep her afloat while we try to get disability for her. It was denied the first time when she stopped being able to work, but we are reapplying for a fast track approval because her diagnosis. I don't anticipate her ever being able to go back to work.
In the meantime have been running a financial deficit every month since she got sick. There have been a lot of incidental expenses that I've also picked up the slack on as well that are costing me $200 - $500 a month or so. All in, I've paid for nearly $10k of expenses and wiped out all of my liquid savings in the process.
Right now I'm drowning financially trying to help her out and none of my other relatives are willing or able to contribute. I desperately need suggestions on what I can do to protect myself financially and if there are any resources I can get for my mom other than disability. Like maybe food stamps if she's eligible or anything else that could help?
I would like to get another job to fill in some of the gaps, but it has to be unscheduled and probably has to be working remotely since my mom basically needs round the clock care right now. She has home health care during the day and then I have been staying with her in the evenings as much as I can so something like delivering pizza or driving Uber isn't very tenable right now.
I feel stuck right now. Every month I get further behind on my bills and I'm starting to have to rely on credit cards to fill the gap. She will probably have to do treatment for at least 3-6 months and I don't know if I can support her financially like this the whole time unless something changes.
For anyone who has been in this situation before, what's my next move? Suggestions on how to find remote side jobs or for benefits to apply for would be really helpful. Or anything else.
Submitted September 30, 2018 at 11:37AM by ccthrowaway9988 https://ift.tt/2xXBw1o
