Annie & Marcus Lomax

Grand Blanc, MI

Our Story...

Annie Lomax knows that someday, someone else will have to care for her son Marcus. She just doesn’t know who it is going to be yet.

Annie is 75 years old and unsure how much longer she will be able to care for Marcus, 43, her mentally disabled son. Marcus requires around the clock care. He needs help with the simple tasks most people take for granted: getting dressed, preparing a meal, taking a bath.

“He is like a two or three year old basically,” Annie explains.

Annie and her husband Willie have looked at group homes, but have thus far been resistant.

“He is my only son and I am just trying to do the best I can for him and keep him home. We think about the group home, but we’ve come this far. It’s just hard for us.”

The problem, as Annie explains it, is that when she is no longer able to care for Marcus, she doesn’t know who will do it.

“For the small amount the state pays me, I don’t know who would do it. I don’t know how we will do it.

“I think about it a lot. My daughter says she will take care of Marcus, but she has a job and I would hate to see her give up her job.”

Having been at it for forty years, Annie knows just how hard it can be to care for Marcus on the meager wages provided by the state.

“It gets pretty tight around here. Getting a raise would mean a lot to us. I would just like to be able to buy Marcus some new clothes. He’s got tears in a lot of his clothes.”