After weeks in hospital with a painfully swollen leg, my friend James is once again back out on the street, in a wheelchair and a whole lot worse for wear.
Loaded up with pain killers, medicine to fight infection and his blood pressure medication, James is finding it more and more difficult to get around and to find a comfortable spot on the bus stop bench to try and rest. Truth be told, James is looking more fragile than ever.
The old geezer spent hours on Saturday trying to convince James that he needs to get into some sort of programme and end his life on the street. He is now more at risk than ever before. My fear is that James will die on that bench and no one will discover him until he has grown cold.
Whatever the mental condition of James, he is not an alcoholic or a drug abuser. James' biggest problem is that he believes that he needs to care for another homeless person and if he leves the street, this homeless person will do himself in. Fact of the matter is, this younger homeless person has tried to kill himself before, latest time was before Christmas last, almost did it, but lived and spent 40 days in hospital coming back from the grave.
James needs help now. James is 70 years old and quickly sliding deeper and deeper into a high risk situation that could cause him to die. The swollen leg is not improving.
This day, the old geezer stripped off the old bandage and applied lotion to the leg. Peeled off lots of dead skin and re-applied a bandage to the leg. Got James to take all of his medicine and made sure he had water and something to eat.
James promised that he would get to a store and purchase some socks for his feet, get some sort of footwear and other items he needs to cover some of his medical problems. Like adult diapers. James can not always get to a toilet and the diapers help him cope.
James is in need of some sort of respite, he can not continue to do without sleep and proper care. James knows that my good friend Marc Alexander, with IHS, is aware of his condition and willing to work with him to get him some sort of help. James is also aware that I have made Care-A-Van aware of his condition. James is leary of authority, afraid to be placed in a situation where is is unable to get about. However strong his dislike of authority, James is also aware that he can not continue as he is. That the situation of his caring for another homeless person is not healthy for him.
If I have learned anything in doing good deeds, it is that you can not help everyone. Some homeless are not reachable. You have to try with the ones you feel can still be reached. I believe James is still reachable, it will not be easy, but it can still be possible for James to become more safe than he is at present.
I am going to forward this post to Marc Alexander at IHS. I am going to forward this post to Care-A-Van. I will also forward this post to any number of other folks who do outreach to the homeless. I will be padantic with members of the local newspaper and the mayor and a state senator. This post will find its way to two sites that deal with the homeless condition.
I can not save the world. I can stop and take the time to help one person, hoping that one person will find relief from suffering. James is my friend. James is also my responsibility as a member of society, the same society I am a part of. His life matters.
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