September 11... guess it was a fitting day for me to cover another funeral. This time it was for two brothers - Jean-Guy Roy, 59 and Richard Roy, 46. It was sad - that's what I told the week-end producer when he asked me how my report went. His reply, "Which funeral isn't sad?" All funerals are indeed sad, but the context behind this one particularly struck me.
The father of the two men found the dead bodies in their St. Jude home last Sunday. Jean-Guy Roy's health was deteriorating; he died of natural causes. Richard Roy was living with Down Syndrome. His elder brother was his full-time care-taker. Upon his death, Richard was unable to take care of himself - he died of starvation. Their bodies were found in an advanced state of decomposition.
It's a story of loneliness and societal neglect. So much could've been done to prevent this tragedy from happening. Some who knew him said Jean-Guy didn't have time to look after his own health, he was so busy looking after his brother. He couldn't read or write and relied heavily on welfare. He was afraid to ask for help out of fear of being seperated from his brother once people would learn of the conditions they lived in.
Who takes care of the care-givers?
One mourner got it right. She said it's all about people helping people, be it friends, family or neighbours - it's what we need more of.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
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And to think, all of this could have been avoided if people just took the time to care a little...:(
ReplyDeletewow that is sad,
ReplyDeletei cant imagine being in that situation
we do need to take care of each other...