Darlene endured rough couple of years—to say the least. Just before the pandemic, her husband Kenny died. Then, the park where she kept her trailer, her primary residence, closed and she had nowhere to live. She had been on a waitlist for rent-geared-to-income housing—for more than 17 years.
To make matters harder for Darlene, her beloved dog passed away. Darlene reached a breaking point when, after 28 years of managing a rare chronic lung disease, she couldn’t breathe.
“I was talking and suddenly I had no voice, no air. My oxygen levels fell to 79%,” Darlene told us. Eventually, Darlene was prescribed supplemental oxygen and was connected with ProResp.
At the time, Darlene was living in a trailer behind her sister’s house with just a little plug-in heater and a propane stove. “As winter set in, it got tougher and colder. I had no running water,” Darlene recalled. But during this dark time, Darlene said ProResp was a ray of light. “I think ProResp is great. Phenomenal. My respiratory therapist Sarah is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She is really patient with me, and kind, and went way beyond what she needed to do to help me,” said Darlene.
Darlene is referring to the fact that when Sarah learned about Darlene’s living situation, she swung into action and used her contacts in the region to find Darlene a place to live. Somewhere she could finally call home.
Sarah found Darlene a one-bedroom apartment in an affordable housing building for seniors. The apartment is on the main floor and has its own door to the outside, so Darlene can take her new dog, Bentley, out to play ball.
“Sarah is a blessing. She didn’t have to go and do all that she did to find me a place. I am so lucky to have her,” Darlene said.