Hiding from reality

Hiding from reality

By David Verveer

Our former neighbor and friend, 75 years old suffers from the early stages of Parkinson decease. He is slowly losing the control of his movements, and everything ages him. However, as ex army officer, who his whole life participated in sport, and up to now is a member of the country club, where he visits every weekday, he is embarrassed to admit his weakness, and think that his friends did not notice that anything is wrong with him.

That is also the reason, why he refuses to get professional help, and his poor wife, not a spring chicken herself, has to take care of him and help him with practically everything, and I mean everything in order to continue the farce performance as healthy member of society.

It is not a question of money, his pension as retired officer is sufficient to live on, and if he would have gone into proper treatment and getting assistance for domestic and medical preventive care, his insurance would have financed it in full, but his false pride makes everybody in his surroundings suffer, without any necessity.

They frequently visit us Shabbat afternoon, which is an performance relatively hard for him, but provides him with a feeling of normality. We of course, never talk about his health and problems, and talk about everyday problems, things which happened in the country, and were on the news, but never ever about his illness.

Lately, after years of nudging on my part, he bought a computer, and found there a new life, he does not write or gets e-mails, but reads the newspaper from his country of origin, plays poker and other card games, and suddenly feels more or less connected again, as nobody can notice his invalidity on the internet.

Before the computer rescued him, he would sit at home or in the Jacuzzi pool at the country club,, doing nothing, feeling sorry for himself, now when the computer gives him company, and keeps him mentally occupied, he seems to feel less depressed, and one can say that the invention of the computer is just as important to an elderly and ailing person, as having a pet, and requires much less maintenance, and there is no need to take it for a walk three times a day or feed it regularly.

I hope they soon will find a remedy that will treat or at least slow this aging decease, in order to spare him from the sufferance.