I will continue to be amazed at the ludicrous actions of those in charge of protecting our citizens. This is the third installment of the blatant elder abuse case that my friend's mother, Dorothy, is a victim of. In this case, which is one of hundreds, if not thousands across the country, the judge decided to call for yet another conference to be held after listening to what seemed to be more lying and perjured testimony from the law guardian and healthcare manager, as relayed to me by witnesses who attended. An evaluation of Dorothy's health was requested from the current nursing home that she is incarcerated in.
This woman's health has spiraled down somewhat since she was forced into leaving her home of six decades. This was bound to happen after the law guardian made Dorothy move from one nursing home to a hospital to another nursing home within thirty days. It is ironic that in open court, one of the excuses submitted was that moving someone like her from place to place would be harmful to her mental and physical state. The "place" they were referring to was her daughter, Diane's, well-equipped home, where Dorothy has repeatedly stated she wants to go to if she is not allowed to stay in her own home. I must be clear that this is no indictment of any nursing home because they do serve a necessary and worthy function.
On the day of this latest hearing, Dorothy was not allowed to attend. Her law guardian failed to make arrangements to have her there. When Diane left several messages for the fourth party in this case, her mother's appointed attorney who is supposed to represent her, to ask her to make it happen, she did not get a timely response, so Diane called the nursing home. She was told by the social worker that the director of the nursing home stated, "It will not be safe for Dorothy to leave the nursing home." This woman went on to say that prior to being transported anywhere, Diane would need to be trained by the staff. A follow-up call to the correct department at the facility was made, where she was told it would take five to ten minutes. She was denied the right to have this done before the conference. Diane has been getting her Mom in and out of the car for a long time without incident, but suddenly she needed to be trained in how to do this. It was another blatant attempt to keep this elderly woman from having her own voice heard in the courtroom in front of a State Supreme Court judge who is responsible for this entire situation.
It must be noted that the following day, Dorothy's safety wasn't a concern for her to leave and go to a doctor appointment (not her own long-time physician) that is approximately the same distance as the court. While there was an original excuse that there were not enough funds to transport her, suddenly funding was not an issue. Dorothy and Diane are lied to on a consistent basis. I am not sharing anything that cannot be substantiated. The trail of evidence is pretty easy to follow, but the pompousness of the offending parties is such that it makes no difference to them.
There were several people who attended the latest conference to show support for Diane and her Mom. All of them appear to have gotten the same thing from the mockery of this judge's courtroom--that it is apparently legal to bleed the last of Dorothy's money out of her account while she waits dejectedly in a place that she did nothing to deserve to be put in. I can say this because the alternative to her own home would be to live in the home of Diane. The healthcare manager had sent a letter to the judge for the previous conference stating that the house met all of the standards needed to have someone handicapped live there safely. Dorothy, at age eighty-seven, has some knee problems that make it hard for her to walk, but she is able to do so pretty easily with the help of a walker. The renovation to the bathroom she would use all came out of Diane's own money.
According to sources, Dorothy's appointed attorney did little to fight to have her client at the hearing, nor fight to get her out of the nursing home. This entire alliance has given the appearance of some form of collusion, yet I am unable to state that with certainty until I receive more information. It does look like the "game" they play is to rant about things in the courtroom that are baseless, but once said, become part of the public record. It is yet another abuse of the legal system that has gone on unchecked by the judge handling this case. Until this latest hearing, he has consistently cut Diane off in most of her efforts to speak, but with this case gaining in national awareness amongst guardian abuse sites and more, he had no choice but to listen.
It must be noted that the main players in this abusive situation are all well-positioned. There are clear conflicts of interest; at least as viewed by most people. You have a law guardian who is the past vice president of one of the bar associations; a healthcare manager who sits on the boards of several groups who are supposed to protect the people who are being taken advantage of, and a judge who is a State Supreme Court justice. Their clout either intimidates or squashes all legitimate complaints against them. The appearance of wrongdoing is obvious to anyone who knows the about this case, including the people who have been at the hearings.
My life is about seeing everything from a higher perspective; one where I look at people from more of a soul basis. In addition, I am well aware of life lessons, both physically and on a more spiritual plateau. This causes me to see things in a different light than most. I will always try to give the benefit of the doubt to someone who makes poor judgments, improper decisions, or errors in attitude. The people involved in this guardian abuse case have given me reason to question much of what I have learned. It has happened gradually; first by thinking that all people are intrinsically good, then by looking at how greed can weaken the mind and erupt into having no commonsense. Had there been any, then the court would be able to see that there is only one truthfully loving child doing her best to make her mother's wishes be fulfilled.
I will leave you with the actual words from eighty-seven year old, Dorothy. She handwrote her plea to get out of the nursing home the night before the conference. There are several other letters written by her over the past two years, but Diane was always accused of dictating them. This one had an independent witness to validate that these words were not coerced or given to Dorothy in any way. Some of the letters are much more emotional in her pleading for release. As an aside, the healthcare manager, under oath, told the judge that Dorothy is acclimating well. The judge also assigned this woman and her company to handle Dorothy's healthcare. My efforts are to get all people to realize that there is a wreckless approach by many people who are designated to be helping, not hindering, our seniors and others who are incapacited in some manner. It does not mean they are incapable of making their own choices, nor that the loving members of their families cannot handle it.
9/18/11
To Whom it May Concern,
I want to go home more then [sic] anything else in the world. There is nothing wrong with me. Being home will make me the happiest person in the world. You never realize how precious your home is until you are not in it.
Please help me. I want to go home.
Sincerely,
Dorothy
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