Monterey, CA Ending Your Life With Alzheimer's Disease And No Money, The Story Of The Famous Brown Twins In San Francisco : Hands to Help Seniors
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Monterey, CA Ending Your Life With Alzheimer's Disease And No Money, The Story Of The Famous Brown Twins In San Francisco

by Richard Kuehn on 08/30/12

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California I was up in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago and was sad to read a story  about the identical Brown twins, Marian and Vivian, who have been fixtures in San Francisco for decades, walking about town in beautiful matching outfits.  Even if you haven't seen them in The City, you may have seen them on television.  They've been in a number of TV commercials, including, Reebok, IBM, Payless Drugstore, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Joe Boxer shorts, AT&T, Dell Computer and Apple Computer.  Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Atlantic, even flew them to London for a shopping trip at Harrods after their commercial was shot.  Now 85, Marian cared for her twin sister who now has Alzheimer's disease, until she fell in July and had to be put into Davies medical center.  "We don't look much alike anymore," Marian told a reporter.  She wants to bring her sister back home to their one bedroom apartment in Nob Hill where they sleep in twin beds amongst the 100 or more beautiful matching outfits.  But it may not happen.  Her sister's memory has been fading for over a year, but still, Marian believes they are inseparable and has even volunteered to move into an assisted living facility with her sister, but money is a problem.  She can only afford to visit her sister twice a week because of the $30 cab fare, round trip.  She's looked for affordable living options but hasn't found any in San Francisco and some have tried to convince her to move out of town.  "People know us as the San Francisco Twins, and we want to finish up our lives here in San Francisco," she told a reporter.  I was happy to read that following the story in the San Francisco Chronicle, there was an outpouring of public support for the sisters.  People have been showing up almost on a daily basis at Uncle Vito's pizza at Bush and Powell where Vivian has her dinner each day at 4:00 p.m.  A benefit for the sisters is scheduled for tonight at San Francisco's Red Devil Lounge featuring jazz singer Kim Nalley. Proceeds from the show will go toward Jewish Family and Children Services, which will in turn give a helping hand to the Brown twins.  If you can't attend the event but want to help the twins, you can contact the San Francisco Emergency Assistance Fund by clicking here.  They have a similar mission as Hands To Help Seniors, helping senior citizens which have emergency financial needs.  What a terrible situation, to be in your 80's and out of money and have Alzheimer's disease thrown in the mix on top of everything else.  I cared for my grandmother for five years until she passed away at the age of 97 last year.  She was lucky enough to have family to take care of her, not everyone does.

 

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-s-iconic-Brown-twins-face-life-apart-3791950.php

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/brown-twins-san-francisco_n_1836906.html

 

http://www.jfcs.org/give/help-marian-and-vivian-brown-and-others-them

 

 

 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of HandsTo Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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