At the end of the month, there's simply nothing left. The lack of money is sometimes hard for Eloise. She worked 22 years as a lab technician and was used to having extra spending cash to buy clothes and shoes, her weaknesses. She's got fond memories of taking a handful of credit cards to Broughton Street and charging up a storm. But the Wimberlys do get a few financial breaks here and there.
Food stamps pay for most of their groceries.
Since Ernest was a cab driver for many years before his stroke, Eloise can get free rides with some of the drivers who knew him. Ernest is eligible for Teleride, but Eloise has to make those arrangements several days in advance. When Ernest had the stroke and Eloise had stomach and leg surgeries last year, Medicare and Medicaid paid their bills. It also pays for the home care nurses that come to the apartment and help them with some of their daily activities. Ernest's nurses come every day to help bathe and shave him, and another nurse comes about once a month to check him over.