Elder Abuse

       I don’t know about you but hearing about the elderly being abused makes me mad.  Yesterday on my home television station there was a terrible story about a elderly woman who was allegedly abused by her own son. 

       She was left on her couch allegedly for approximately three weeks without medical help.  She was so weak from lack of food and fluids that she could not even get up off of her couch.  Her home was so filthy with her own waste that the emergency workers and police who checked on her, became violently ill in the front yard of the home.  It sounds as if the woman’s social security checks were being cashed regularily though.  The news reports say that the woman allegedly did not have a shower/bath for up to one year! 

       The poor woman has had to have surgery…her home was in such disrepair that it was condemned by the authorities.  Where in the world has respect for life gone?  This is a failure of our culture to fail to make sure that all of our older friends and relatives are nurtured, cherished and protected.  Sometimes, the elderly deal with memory issues or mental illness; this is an especially important circumstance to get social workers and medical personel involved with, especially if they don’t have a close supportive family system in place.   It would be bad enough if this was an isolated case in our country; but, it is not. 

         Everyday the elderly are abused and neglected in their homes, in medical facilities, in nursing homes and on the streets.  It is an outrage.  Yes, the elderly require time and attention.  Yes, it can be difficult for the caregiver; as they are loosing their independence and ability to do many of life’s chores on their own and often they resent that fact; however, it is important to take loving care of our elders.  Time is short and spending time with your loved ones is special.   You can never get that time back with them once they are gone.  The difficult and challenging times will pass.   The elders in your community have many memories and experiences to share; take advantage of that time with them to store up knowledge and memories.

         Just showing some caring and concern for the elders can make a difference in the quality of life for them.  Offer to do a kindness for them such as pick up their mail for them; or walk their dog…take them to medical appointments, or grocery shopping.  Some tasks are too difficult for an elderly person who is unsteady or has medical issues; like, going up and down stairs to do laundry or shoveling their walkways or raking leaves.  

         We all will be elderly one day if we are blessed to live long enough.  Please, check up on your elderly neighbors, your parents, your friends; visit with them and help to relieve their loneliness.  If you see someone abusing or neglecting an older person (or any person for that matter) get involved…call the authorities!  You never know…you could be saving a life.   If you suspect elder abuse report it:  http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/ncearoot/Main_Site/index.aspx

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Church Bribery

        Ok, now i have seen one of the most ridiculous things around regarding getting people into church.  I read a news report that told about a church in Georgia that put up a sign advertising free gas!

         Seems that each time someone “visits” their church they get a free raffle ticket with the opportunity to “win” one of two $500 gas cards.  What is this…elementary school where we have to bribe people to sit in a church service?  This is a sad state of affairs when people don’t attend church for their spiritual well-being…but for some kind of a bribe. 

          Are there not better ways to impact a community spiritually than using gas cards to draw them into the church to hear the word of God?  What do you think about this practice of bribing people to step into a church?

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She’s Dead and She Needed Him

        She is dead and she needed her daddy.  He wasn’t available because he was in prison for half of her life.  Jayci Yaeger was 10 years old and she had brain cancer.   She had had cancer since she was 3 years old according to news reports.

         Her father is in prison on a 5 year sentence for a drug conviction and he has a year left to go.   Who knows why he committed this crime?  None of us know the whole story.  What we do know, is that his daughter has been dying.  She wanted to see her dad one last time.

           While he has been in a facility that is a minimum security prison…he wanted to be moved 3 1/2 hours closer; so that he could see her.  The request has been repeatedly denied; although, they did allow several supervised visits. 

           Just two days ago…Jayci got her wish.  She got to spend 20 minutes with her father.  She is gone now; but it has been said that when he lifted her upon the table for a CT scan, she wrapped her arm around him.  This was a child so weak she couldn’t lift her arms.  Love is a powerful thing.

            I can’t imagine how horrible it would feel being seperated from your child who was dying and needed you desperately; when all along, it was because you did something illegal and had to serve time.   Paying his debt to society for his crime caused him to miss what would turn out to be the last 5 years of his daughters life. 

            He will never get those years back with his child.  But, it really isn’t him that i feel the sorriest for.  I feel the sorriest for his family…for Jayci and her mother who had to go through this trauma without much of his help.    Jayci obviously loved her father very much, as she improved when he was granted three or four brief, supervised visits once she had been declared terminal back in October.

           Just days before she died she was able to spend a little time with her father…after all, it wasn’t her fault they were seperated.

          

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