I Am Getting Old

[c=#009E4F]FURTHER UPDATE[/c]

Mostly good news. My friend is doing well. But a very bad story to go with it.

My long time friend is actually doing very well mentally--now. But apparently he went through a tough ordeal these last couple of months when no one heard from him; he was being isolated and essentially imprisoned by an abusive caretaker who was in the process of relieving him of a lot of his money through credit card fraud and other means.

His caretaker, who had conned her way into the job, stole his personal phone book, had both of his phones (landline and cell) turned off, stole his jacket, coat, hat and scarf, and the keys to his car, so he was essentially a prisoner upstairs in his house, unable to either communicate with anyone he knew, or go anywhere (it's a cold climate where he lives and he needs his jacket in summer and his coat in winter, plus he cannot walk downstairs without assistance).

This caretaker told anyone who came to the house to inquire about my friend in person that my friend had been acting crazy and was irrational and did not want any visitors.

My friend owns his home and rented out rooms. The caretaker was supposed to be collecting the rent and depositing the money in my friend's bank. Instead he let the renters live in their rooms for free if they went along with his story that my friend had become irrational and probably had dementia.

However, my friend, though old and frail, was sharp mentally. His caretaker tried to gaslight him by lying to him about my friend's mental state, and telling him that he had forgotten where he'd put his phone book and his coat, saying his friends had all deserted him due to his "irrational behavior."

Realizing all this was bullshit, and figuring out he was a prisoner, he somehow got to a phone and called his sister 1000 miles away in California. To her everlasting credit, she got on a plane, flew to Portland, Oregon, and got him out of his house and, with his heartfelt encouragement, put him under the care of a doctor in a memory care facility so they could check him out physically and mentally. He is physically frail, but mentally sharp. And has decided it is time to fire the caretaker, sell his car,and house, and move to a care facility appropriate for his condition near his sister (and me!) in California.

Meanwhile, the young friend I contacted (who met both of us on the day she was born in 1974) is helping to make sure that the caretaker leaves (and the sister is reporting the elder abuse to the police) and helping to sell his car.

He is out with my young friend now shopping for a new jacket, coat, hat and scarf and will be getting a new phone soon. He has a phone at the facility he is in. He's even been having some fun going here and there, doing some moderate partying and saying goodbye to the town he's been in for so many years.

A sad story with a happy ending. Not all of these stories have such endings. Abusive caretakers can be very treacherous and dangerous. My long time friend was way too trusting and did not do a professional in-depth background check on the person who agreed to care for him. It's a scary world sometimes and I am very glad and grateful that my long time pal is OK, and that I will be able to visit him when he moves to my area.

[c=#003BB2]UPDATE:[/c]
My old long time friend is still in Portland, apparently. Another, younger, friend of mine is going over to the facility he is in there and she will check it out and let me know what's happening.

Its a real blessing to be involved with the needs and care of others. I hope you will be serene with this as it progresses...and find other ways to express your good heart if you get lost with this one...

Write a letter to his old address with “Please forward” on the envelope?

Well you say you are looking for Communists. But my question is why. 🙂