UPDATE: 

SYRACUSE – Christmas cards and gifts are being requested for a Syracuse woman who has been hospitalized since Dec. 11 when her caretakers found her in failing health.

Angela Proctor reports that Pamela Winkler is expected to remain at Bryan East, where she is being treated for lung problems, well beyond Christmas Day. She is encouraging cards for Winkler to the room 410. 1600 S. 48th, Lincoln, NE 68506-1299.

Proctor and Sara Porter reached out to News Channel Nebraska earlier this month regarding troubles finding a home and health care for Winkler, who is under an eviction notice from the federal housing authority in Syracuse.

Proctor said Winkler remains optimistic and talks about Santa Claus coming.

https://bryanhealth.netreturns.biz/cheercards/

 

SYRACUSE – Frustration is as easy to see and hear from volunteer caregivers as the desperate living conditions for a Syracuse woman.

Sara Porter and Angela Proctor are doing the neighborly thing for Pamela Winkler. They clean, check medications, look for fire hazards and provide emotional support -- all in the name of human dignity.

Winkler tells social workers she can stay at home, but her volunteer caregivers are growing weary and worry that they are running out of time.

Porter: “I’m afraid I’m going to walk into this apartment and find my friend dead because we can’t get help for  her and that’s not fair for her.”

Porter met the 42-year-old Winkler years ago and says her living conditions improved greatly when she was placed in a housing authority apartment, but now there is talk of eviction because Winkler’s disabilities are linked to unsanitary conditions.

Proctor, who has been an unpaid guardian for Winkler the past eight months, is worried that if a nursing home is not found for Winkler, she will be dropped off at a homeless shelter.

Proctor: “The state is failing Pamela. We can not get any help. They are saying she can make her own decision if she wants to be placed or not. I disagree. We’ve had several doors just slammed in our face. We are fighting hard for Pamela, to get her placed.”

The roadblocks for a nursing home include Winkler’s younger age, mental disability and the need of medications to control mental illness. She can describe how to use medical equipment, like her oxygen unit, but her caregivers say her quality of life is unacceptable.

Porter: “The stumbling block is that we can’t find anyplace to take her. It’s like nobody looks at her like a human being. Nobody sees her. We can’t get somewhere for her. It’s ‘she’s too obese.’ They don’t want to deal with the schizophrenia. It’s the insurance. It’s  the COVID.”

They say she has become nearly bed bound, spends most of her time, day and night, in the same chair and cries out in hip pain when trying to move about.

Porter: “I want to reach out to people to see if anybody can help us. Pammie deserves a happy holidays. Pammie deserves a nice shower. Pammie deserves to wake up in the morning  and go, ‘man I’m happy today.’

On Friday, a Syracuse rescue squad took Winkler to the hospital with low oxygen. Her neighbor  Jim Guilliat says it is another signal that more care is needed.

Guilliat: “You know, Pam likes living here. She’s a good neighbor. She doesn’t bother anybody, but at the same time she needs help. She needs people like her neighbors,  you or I, that can reach out and help her because she can’t help herself.”

Her caregivers say they will continue to do what they can, but the pressure and stress of 24-hour care is wearing on them. They say they need fewer roadblocks and more allyship.

Proctor: “Somebody will see Pamela’s story. Somebody might have different resources. I’ve asked several people. I put it on Facebook. We need help. We’re screaming for help. She can’t live this way.”