A concerned caretaker's story.

A new freind of mine would like to share her story with you! This is her story in her own words: You asked me to send you my story. I am a little scattered, but I will try. It was my fathers dream to have a place where his whole family could live. I loved the idea. I love the property. It is a place I could raise animals and have a vegetable garden and fruit trees. We bought the property in 1975. In 1985 my father passed away with pancreatic cancer. In 1995 my mother, brother and his five children, and myself all lived on property my mother and I owned. I had done five years of foster care. Thought it was the perfect place for children. My brother and his children went to Florida for a year. While they were gone I found out my nephew had molested three of my foster children. Two of the children had gone back to their families and I adopted one that was still with me. I told my mother and brother what had happened. My brother said I was lying and my mother said, "It was only sex". I had to leave to protect him. I got a job in San Jose and a year later transferred to Marysville. My mother used to come and see me in Marysville. I was concerned about her because she was still driving. She was loosing weight and repeating herself. My sister and I made plans to take her to a doctor. My sister decided to call my brother and tell him we were going to take her to a doctor and would be a little late. He was angry. He called my mother and they had a short conversation. She was very upset and my brother came and got her. Before she left I told her we were trying to take her to the doctor because she had dementia. She said "I do not!". Shortly after that my brother had my mother sign a Trust leaving her half of the property to him. By the way, my mother had supported my brother and his family all their lives. Not quite sure how long after, but about three years later he had her sign a Power of Attorney. I had two houses on the property which I rented when I left. My tenants were reporting neglect right away. I went up once and saw very large holes in the floor in the kitchen. I was afraid she would fall in. I let him know I would take her at any time. He refused. I began to realize he was keeping her because he needed her income to survive. I called APS and reported the situation.They went out and made him fix the floors and the steps leading into the house. Of coarse, he was furious with me. This went on for about 13 years. It got more and more serious. I called APS often. I called lawyers and they said I couldn't do anything because he had Power of Attorney. I think he realized he was in trouble but couldn't, wouldn't, admit it. It finally came to an end last year. A friend saw my mother passed out over her deck railing. The Sheriff was called. She wrote a very sad three page report. My mother was soaked in urine. The water in the house was turned off and there was no food in the house. They sent her to town in an ambulance. I met her there. I found out my brother was also in the hospital with a heart condition. I am not surprised. He smoked and drank coffee all day. He later admitted to doing drugs. When I went into the emergency room I could barely recognize my mother. Her hair was very long and dirty. Her skin was dark. Later found out it was dirt and dead skin. The doctor said she hadn't had anything in her stomach for a while. She was also dehydrated. Of coarse, everyone was appauled. She stayed in the hospital two weeks. My brother went home after a week. My sister went down and talked to him. He was so angry he just screemed at her. She continued to decline. Later had a peg tube inserted so she could eat. She did recover. My brother gave permission for me to take her home with me. As he still had Power of Attorney. I was afraid he would try and take her home, but didn't happen. The Police told me to call them if he tried. She is such a fighter and doing quite well now, except for the dementia.