The neighbor in need...update
Jan and I were on the way home from church when we spotted my neighbor, Greg walking down the road. I thought to stop and say hello and find out how his wife is doing.
For those who do are not up on the story, Greg used to be in the fire department down in Atlanta, but retired on disability due to Hepatitis C. For the last 10 years he has slowly been going down hill. He has two sons, Josh (about 21) and Dallas (about 15). And his wife is Lori.
Well Greg has been fighting with addiction to medications. I guess the stuff they put him on is pretty hard and he has had to go through rehab occasionally. The problem, of course, is that when he gets out of rehab, he has to go right back on the drugs in order to stay alive. It is a vicious cycle.
Needless to say it has had a toll on him. Over the last 10 years, I have seen him do some crazy things and take some big risks. It is almost like he has had a death wish. I almost believe he was trying to kill himself without actually committing suicide.
Needless to say all this took a toll on his wife, Lori. Just this past year she had a stroke, and that was followed by another stroke. She has been in recovery for the longest time and in her absence, Greg and the boys really took a turn for the worst.
At some point the boys were taken from the house. Greg, following a serious skull cracking motorcycle accident, is lacking in a lot of his mental faculties, and between that and the cocktail of prescription drugs he is on, he now lives in what is essentially a stupor.
Well Jan and I stopped to see how things were going and the man I met was almost a zombie. He barely recognized me at all. He was walking with untied shoes, his clothes were barely hanging on him. He had dried snot on his face and shirt, some black substance was on his lips and I couldn't really understand what he was saying, it was slurred and incoherent. He moved in slow motion and wavered with every step.
We got him back to his house, and when we walked in, I gave thanks for what I have been given even when times have been rough economically. The man has been eating raisin bran and water (no milk) and using his hand to eat peanut butter (because he hasn't got enough control to spread it on bread). Even his parents don't seem to be interested in helping him. They say that he has gotten worse over the last few weeks and that no one can talk to him. Well "duh!" if his mental faculties are off kilter, I'm not sure why they would think they can talk to him to begin with. He needs someone to help him, not lecture him.
The recent weather has blown a large pine tree over and it is leaning on the house. There is some minor damage to the roof, but it doesn't appear to be too bad. It will require some attention as soon as possible though.
Jan and I took some hot food over to him, biscuits and beef stew and a half gallon of unsweetened tea (he is also diabetic).
His inlaws pretty much blame him for his wife's stroke and want nothing to do with him. They have taken the boys out of the house and so he has no one to look after him or help him. The poor guy has been written off. I don't think he will last long enough to see another Christmas.
Jan and I will do what we can to help. But there is only so much we can do.
For those who do are not up on the story, Greg used to be in the fire department down in Atlanta, but retired on disability due to Hepatitis C. For the last 10 years he has slowly been going down hill. He has two sons, Josh (about 21) and Dallas (about 15). And his wife is Lori.
Well Greg has been fighting with addiction to medications. I guess the stuff they put him on is pretty hard and he has had to go through rehab occasionally. The problem, of course, is that when he gets out of rehab, he has to go right back on the drugs in order to stay alive. It is a vicious cycle.
Needless to say it has had a toll on him. Over the last 10 years, I have seen him do some crazy things and take some big risks. It is almost like he has had a death wish. I almost believe he was trying to kill himself without actually committing suicide.
Needless to say all this took a toll on his wife, Lori. Just this past year she had a stroke, and that was followed by another stroke. She has been in recovery for the longest time and in her absence, Greg and the boys really took a turn for the worst.
At some point the boys were taken from the house. Greg, following a serious skull cracking motorcycle accident, is lacking in a lot of his mental faculties, and between that and the cocktail of prescription drugs he is on, he now lives in what is essentially a stupor.
Well Jan and I stopped to see how things were going and the man I met was almost a zombie. He barely recognized me at all. He was walking with untied shoes, his clothes were barely hanging on him. He had dried snot on his face and shirt, some black substance was on his lips and I couldn't really understand what he was saying, it was slurred and incoherent. He moved in slow motion and wavered with every step.
We got him back to his house, and when we walked in, I gave thanks for what I have been given even when times have been rough economically. The man has been eating raisin bran and water (no milk) and using his hand to eat peanut butter (because he hasn't got enough control to spread it on bread). Even his parents don't seem to be interested in helping him. They say that he has gotten worse over the last few weeks and that no one can talk to him. Well "duh!" if his mental faculties are off kilter, I'm not sure why they would think they can talk to him to begin with. He needs someone to help him, not lecture him.
The recent weather has blown a large pine tree over and it is leaning on the house. There is some minor damage to the roof, but it doesn't appear to be too bad. It will require some attention as soon as possible though.
Jan and I took some hot food over to him, biscuits and beef stew and a half gallon of unsweetened tea (he is also diabetic).
His inlaws pretty much blame him for his wife's stroke and want nothing to do with him. They have taken the boys out of the house and so he has no one to look after him or help him. The poor guy has been written off. I don't think he will last long enough to see another Christmas.
Jan and I will do what we can to help. But there is only so much we can do.