WOMAN IN FAILING HEALTH CAN DO LITTLE TO HELP WITH HER FAMILY

Life seems to get more and more complicated for Mrs. F, but she never complains.

She is a widow who was living alone, barely making ends meet, when her daughter and two grandchildren moved back home.

Mrs. F's daughter is struggling to support her two children and tries not to burden her mother, but things are very hectic around the house.

Mrs. F suffers from congestive heart failure and heart disease. She has diabetes and glaucoma. Now arthritis has set in, making it difficult for her to get around.

It takes half her small pension check to pay for drugs each month. Money is very tight.

The family lives in a small apartment. They manage to meet all the necessities. But nothing is left over for extras. Mrs. F's grandchildren will likely make her a Christmas card, but gifts will not be under the tree.

A practical gift for Mrs. F would be a shower bench and an arthritic aid to help her pick things up from the floor.

Mrs. F doesn't have a coat. She needs a new pant coat, size 18, and prefers gray or beige. A sweatshirt, size extra-large, would also make a nice gift.

Mrs. F would enjoy a permanent, a real luxury for her, and a fruit basket. A gift certificate for groceries and also for prescriptions would help ease the budget, at least for a little while, as would donations of toilet articles like soap, shampoo and paper products.

Mrs. F has two cats, a black and a calico, which she adores. When things get a little chaotic, she enjoys spending time with the animals. A donation of dry and canned cat food and cat box filler would be appreciated.

Christmas for the Elderly is a project of the Cape Girardeau Health Department and the Southeast Missourian newspaper.

Gifts may be brought to the Southeast Missourian, 301 Broadway, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Gifts may also be delivered to the health department, 1121 Linden, after 10 a.m. weekdays. Organizers ask that fruit baskets not be delivered until Dec. 16.

Contributions may be mailed to Christmas for the Elderly, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699.

For more information, call Kim McDowell at 335-6611.