if you’re one of my followers and wondered where i went, here’s the reason why i haven’t posted anything at all this year. but if you’re new, i’ll try to keep it short.

hi, my name is rem and i’m from argentina. my mom suffered a stroke back in february 2017 and when she was in the hospital, she got diagnosed with grade IV gliobastoma (brain tumor) and gradually lost all movement in her body, she can barely form a word and blink, and has to use a wheel chair. she has gone through radiation therapy and chemotherapy, but her health is getting worse and worse and we can’t do anything for her other than keep her free from pain and make her enjoy the rest of her life, as long as she can.

my dad had to quit his job and i also quitted all my studies to attend her, since she needs attention 24/7. my brother is also disabled so he can’t help, just sometimes but we can’t count on him all the time. either my dad or i have to stay with her if any of us wants to go out to do something, so our social life is very limited and my dad only goes out to do groceries, go to the hospital or to the insurance mutual center. fortunately, we have a very good but expensive insurance that is covering half of my mom’s daily medication, but it doesn’t cover my brother’s and my medication (around $500 USD weekly). my mom also has an aide that comes from mondays to saturdays mornings and evenings, but sadly it’s not enough and either my dad or i have to stay with her because of her emotional stability since she gets seizures everyday. 

however, we are using my parents’ life savings and everything is just so expensive. after my parents moved back to argentina (spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in that), we were living in an apartment but since my mom uses a wheelchair we had to move to a house immediately and the rent is REALLY expensive, and we lost a lot of money in that. food is expensive, medication is expensive, transportation is expensive… i feel guilty all the time and i try not to eat much (maybe just once a day) and walk as much as possible. i’ve been trying to help by offering english and japanese lessons, and i’m also a makeup artist, but i’ve had no luck. i cannot get a regular job because i have to attend my mom. my dad is 60 years old and he is in the same situation as me, but it’s harder for him to get a job anyway.

it breaks my heart that i have to ask for help but we are truly getting desperate, i wish i could offer commissions but helping my mom and looking for jobs don’t let me have much free time (on top of having severe depression and i’m basically blocked and i haven’t drawn since last year), and my family (uncles, grandmother, etc.) won’t help us either.

my paypal is [email protected].