Bertha Flores

Welcome to Bertha's CaringBridge website. We, Bertha, Bertha's mother (Consuelo), her son JJ , two sisters Martha and Laura and brother Marc are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.

Bertha's story began over 50 years ago when she was first diagnosed with juvenile diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes) and has lived her life with this disease ever since.  It has been a difficult journey for Bertha as she has undergone two kidney transplants, suffered through hundreds of hospital stays and more recently in the last two years has had several strokes.  All of which has begun to affect her short term memory and for other organs in her body to slowly shut down.  Doctors have told us that our strong and vibrant Bertha may not be with us at the end of the year.  This has been very painful for all of us to handle and accept because our Bertha has been fighting this disease for so long.

Bertha is currently at the South Park Meadows Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 9801 S. 1st Street / Austin, TX 78748.   The facility is located in south Austin and we all take turns visiting Bertha every day so staff know that family check on her well-being.  And for the most part, staff are pretty awesome. They  work hard, answer our questions and take care of our Bertha.  

We have all gotten into a routine  of which day is our day to visit - there is Marc who never fails to bring her a Sonic Slush and listens to oldies music with her.  Or  visits with JJ  who explains all about his law enforcement academy training.  Mom/Consuelo who reads books and discusses what happens in the books with her or Martha who tells Bertha all about her fast paced world, or me (Laura) who shares with her the latest hair raising story my 5th grade class pulled at school.  

If you have recently tried to send messages or call Bertha, her phone has been disconnected because she does not use her phone anymore.  The same with her internet email and facebook accounts, she does not have the stamina or interest to log into these accounts to read  or respond to messages.   We do not know all of Bertha's friends so if you are aware of someone who would like to be kept apprised of her health please send us a message with their email address so we can send an invitation to the website.

Our goal with this website is to update everyone once a week.  One of us will post so that all of you who also love and care about Bertha will know how she is doing.     As matters progress and become more serious, we will try to be more vigilant.