With Jack Parkinson’s case, I have felt a lot of emotions. There have been highs and lows and an abundance of plains…Right now…I’m in a unique area where it is a little of everything all at once. My son surprised me the other day by asking if we could go back to where “pawpaw” lived. He says he wants to live there. How do you explain that evil people have the house and its not allowed? How does he even remember the home that we had to leave? To say that elder abuse affects people for years to come is the understatement of the year in my opinion.
Just Seven Years
My son just turned 8. As a part of his birthday, I made a collage of him through the years. I found a lot of great pictures of him that I had forgotten about. Two of them hold a very special place in my heart now. One of Jack and one of Pat, both holding my youngest son in the house that they loved…Just over a year from these photos being taken, my mom would be gone. It is a difference between April 2011 and July 2012. It’s the year that hell came to McIntosh County Georgia and the one that shaped all others since it. Seven years. Seven years of hurt, anger, love, and loss. Seven years, during which I went from a happy person with two parents to love and their home to visit, to someone who has lost both their parents, the home that they built, and most things associated with them and their memories. Their life. Gone. In every way that a life can be erased. Just Seven Years.
My Plea
I cannot stress enough; if you know someone who is suffering abuse or someone who has a diagnosis of dementia—–Fight for them and NEVER assume that you are able to protect yourself or them. I was blind and stupid. I thought I could protect my dad from himself. I believed if I took him to the doctor and I kept his family updated on his mental status changes, I could protect him from the vultures. Its never enough. The US government has laws that are supposed to protect senior citizens who are not able to help themselves, but then, they do nothing for the people who truly need it. My dad was hurt by his family. He was devastated by them and destroyed. There is no justice for him, because the hurt that was inside of him killed him. Even if the elder in your life is loved by all who is near them; protect them from themselves as soon as dementia comes up. Otherwise, a snake can strike in the blink of an eye and their entire life will have been lived for nothing. Don’t let it happen to your family. Your loved ones. It sounds wrong to want to have someone, a parent or a grandparent, declared incompetent, but you should declare the person incapacitated. It is the ONLY way to protect them and it should be done ASAP after dementia is diagnosed. However, the trick is, they must be far enough “demented” to be documented, but not so far that they cannot legally make the agreement.
Jack Parkinson Lost
My dad had four snakes waiting for the right opportunity. He never stood a chance, and neither did I. I tried protecting someone with dementia and I failed. A million videos, a million text messages saved, doctor records, a will, last wishes and the fact that the world knew my mom and dad wanted me to have their home at the end of their life, etc.; none of it was enough for the greedy who wanted more. The Brother and Sister in law, their buddies. They had everything they could want, but it wasn’t enough. They wanted to take what my parents had and destroy it. The devils blood flows in their veins and throughout their heart. Whether the case for my dad is won or lost…God will never manage to save them. It is written in my parent’s blood, sweat, and tears.