Life...??!!??

I don't think I can express in words what I have just experienced....

I guess its a mixture of shock, anger, frustration, disgust and sheer sadness.

We arrive in a respectable neighbourhood, step into a decent looking house with clean white walls and floors, and are greeted by a well presented lady, Ana.

Latino music is blaring from the computer, a scruffy dog brushes against you as you take a seat on the unusually clean sofa. I spot a television and photos of Ana's children. I remember muttering to myself how distant from poverty this home is compared to what we have become accustomed to on our daily visits with Mision Consuelo. It's clean, has a roof, a good size with 2 rooms. A luxury.

Little do we realise what lay ahead of us.....

Our patient, Ana's mother, an 83 year old lady, with dementia and a past history of a stroke, lay in the outhouse.

Yes, a corrugated leaking roof, a gate for a door, exposed to all of nature's delights, cement walls, rubbish and the dog for warmth.....

She is munching on the dirty sheets, smelling of excrement and rocking to and fro aimlessly.

The daughter attempts to defend herself by saying in Spanish..." We are so poor. There are not enough rooms inside and we don't like the smell"

I dread to even think how long our patient has been left in the state. Let's just say, if RSPCA were around, they would have rescued her in an instant.

We attempt to change the situation by inviting the sisters of the Mother Theresa convent to the home. Unfortunately , there are no state care homes or laws to protect the elderly in Costa Rica. We hope the sisters will take her in. However, there's one condition and that's the family cannot visit her ever again...... It's interesting how the family quickly agree..

Our hopes are dashed when the sisters say she doesn't qualify??? The sisters take in street people, who have noone in this world, and not a penny to their name.

So we leave, despondent, hands tied behind our backs, frustrated and angry on how humans lack respect for others. Is there any justice in the world?

We take the sisters, to who I stand in admiration for the selfless work they do for the street people of San Jose, to another patient....

I guess, my favourite, for her laughter, permanent smile and endless warmth....

Amelia, resides in her garage, alone, in the damp and dirt, at 93, with leg ulcers and food provided by Mision Consuelo.

She qualifies. There's hope!

But guess what....she declines the offer and says that her next and final move will be to the cemetery....