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Fairfield caregiver now finds herself needing care
Nov 23, 2009 (The Reporter - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Fairfield's Wilma Wilson has taken care of more than 300 children in her 28 years of being a foster parent.
Those that know her are now asking for the community's help in taking care of the 62-year-old. Rheumatoid arthritis and two replacements on each hip and knee has confined her to a wheelchair.
Wilson is planning on retiring from fostering in two years. That may give her time to focus on teaching children at Sunday school.
"I want to reach 30 years and find something to do. I'm sure whatever I embark on will be kid related," she said during an interview in her cramped East Travis Boulevard apartment. "Wherever you find kids, I'll be there."
All her selfless years of looking after others haven't allowed for any extras. Even with a modest life with few frills, Wilson had to take time to think of what she needed that would improve her life.
"If you don't have love for children, fostering isn't for you. Fostering is not a money maker," she said. "I didn't make any money off of it, or I wouldn't live here. I'd be in a bigger house."
Eventually she mentioned her bed has been fixed and propped up four different times and often is filled with four or five people.
Another request Wilson thought of was help in getting around town, mostly to doctor's appointments. Currently she relies on friends to get her around town after her eyesight caused Wilson to lose her driver's license.
Her one desire is to learn how to use computer technology and the
Internet. Because she is often confined to bed, she felt a laptop computer would be the best. If possible, she said, a class on how to get started would also help.
Wilson doesn't currently have any foster children, however Lesley Williams -- a former foster child -- still lives in the home after being emancipated. She can stand but also relies on a wheelchair to get around after a complication at birth left her with an injured leg.
The 19-year-old would be out on her own if the search for a handicap-accessible apartment was easier. With little money to spend, Williams said finding a cheap apartment that also has low counters and easy access has been a challenge.
Williams said being in a wheelchair the last few years has added to her obesity and she would love a membership to 24-hour Fitness to use the pool. Williams said the physical therapy in the past has only focused on her leg, but she wants to lose weight overall.
Moving out though, she said, wouldn't break the bond she has with Wilson.
"I've been in nine foster homes. The others were very strict. They had a bundle of kids," she said. "I got her on the 16th, by the 30th I was calling her mom."
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