Saturday, December 12, 2009

Poor Judgement

His name is Larry. An Anglo Saxon White guy. He was working in our company as a junior level manager. He was a bachelor, never married. He lived with his aged mother. He was not heterosexual. Unlike some others, he never advertised his sexual orientation as a gay person. But his mother and friends knew this and accepted that fact. Of course, he had a lover. His name is Charles.

I knew him well. But he was not a close friend of mine. We have been to his house one or two times. He, his mother, and his lover have come to our house once.

Larry loved his mother to death. He took care of her daily needs with love and affection. He would cook for her every day. Made sure she had her medications every day. Daily, Larry would take her mother for walking exercise. He took her on exotic vacation twice a year. In short, he took care of his mother as if he would take care of his own newborn baby.

He never drank. He never smoked.

One day, the fate struck. His doctor diagnosed he has AIDS. He was devastated. His mother was even more devastated. As months went by, his health deteriorated. Larry weighed 200 lbs. And, after 9 months he weighed only 130 lbs. He could not go to work. Therefore, he went on medical disability. He was unable to drive his car. His lover, Charles and another close friend, Sam (a straight guy) took care of the daily needs of Larry and his mother.

Larry was becoming depressed more and more every day. One day, he took several sleeping pills in order to commit suicide. However, Charles saw this and rushed him to the hospital in an ambulance. Doctors saved his life.

Many visitors came to see him at the hospital. All of them (except Sam) were unanimous in their scolding to Larry. “Why did you do this stupid thing? Your mother is very old. Who is going to take care of her if you die? If you die, your aged mother will become an orphan. Your mother is having health problems. You are going to aggravate her condition by committing suicide.”

Larry was discharged from the hospital 3 days later. Since Larry cannot take care of himself, Sam and Larry’s mother decided to admit him in a Care Home. Care Home is a home where they take care of sick people for a fee. He was there for a week. His mother was lonely at home. Sam went there every day to see how she was doing. She knew that her son was dying of AIDS. She decided to take Larry back home. Since Larry had suicidal tendencies, Sam was opposed to this idea. Sam and Larry’s mother approached the doctor in that Care Home. The doctor refused to talk to Sam. It is the law that doctors are supposed to talk only to family members, if the patient has one.

Larry and her mother talked to the Care Home doctor. No one knew the conversation. The doctor decided to release him from the Care Home and let Larry go home with his mother.

On a Thursday evening Larry called Sam about his car insurance. Sam said he will do the needful. On Friday evening Sam called Larry at his home. The phone was ringing and there was no answer. Sam decided to go to Larry’s house on Saturday. Larry’s neighbor called Sam on Saturday morning at 10 am. He said he knocked Larry’s door and there was no answer. The newspapers have not been picked up from the patio.

Since the neighbor had the extra key to Larry’s house, Sam asked him to open the door. After 10 minutes Larry’s neighbor called Sam and informed him that Larry and his mother are dead. There is blood all over the house. Sam asked the neighbor to call the police and rushed there.

To end this post, this is what happened. The visitors who came to see him in the hospital were scolding him as to what would happen to his aged mother if he committed suicide. This was a very poor judgement on the part of the visitors. Since Larry was already depressed and loved his mother, he was worried so much about the fate of his mother in case he should die naturally or commit suicide. He finally decided to kill his own mother, before taking his life, so that she would not suffer or become a helpless orphan after his death. So on Friday he took a claw hammer (a sharp V shaped at the end) and hit his mother forcefully in the back of her head several times. Blood was forced out of her head. There were blood marks on the ceiling, on the window screen, and on the side lamp shade. She died.

Larry then went to his room. Took a blade and cut the veins in his hands, legs, and neck. He also died 20 minutes later.

This is not a fiction. This is a true story. Larry and Sam worked in our Company. I have changed the real names to protect their privacy. Couple of days later Sam came to see me and told me the whole story. I said Larry made the wrong decision to kill his mother. Even if it was right in his mind, I told Sam, he could have put a bullet into her head as opposed to beating her forcefully in the back of her head several times. Sam just wept.

The lesson: When we visit someone who is very sick, we should say some encouraging words. We should not depress more a person who is already depressed.

32 comments:

  1. You never know which comments can trigger what outcome...and this is pretty extreme.

    Larry who was dying of AIDS never thought about who would take care of his mom once he's gone.
    When others tried to convince him that suicide is not the route because who would take care of his mom, he didn't think to NOT commit suicide but his thought process led him to commit suicide and homicide. Er go, no one needs to take care of his mom after he is gone.

    That is one sad, sad story.

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  2. Thanks for your comments The Cagey Bee. Larry was depressed. People with depression do not think rationally. Yes it is a sad story. He was a nice man. Sam is the unsung hero.

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  3. Larry initially took medications and try to commit suicide. Visitors are not expert to deal with the person having suicidal tendancy. Care Home doctor, the law pertain to patient care and poor judgement lead to Homicide and suicide. This will be a lesson for any one to deal appropriately/effectively with the suicidal person. On a side note, most of the terminally ill patient will have the suicidal tendancy. Indeed, it was a sad incident. No one should ever encounter this type of situation in their life.

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  4. Thanks for your comments Anonymous. What you say is very true. All I can say to you one more time "I am sorry for the loss of your friend".

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  5. It is a sad event. But this is what people do. They force their opinion, suggestions when unwarranted; manipulating the already depressed soul

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  6. Thanks for your comments Insignia. You are absolutely right.

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  7. Very sad and shocking...damn he was surely very depressed.It is advisable to keep people with suicidal tendencies under constant observation.You are right it was a poor judgement.

    As a visitor to a sick person we must stick to offer our good wishes,prayers and genuine words of encouragements and support.I wish things like this never repeat.I t also made me have an overlook at my behaviour too....i hope i am always careful when i visit someone sick .Thanks SG .

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  8. Thanks for your comments Kavita. I know you will never use poor judgement.

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  9. SG, your post depressed me...such a sad tale..

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  10. Such an unfortunate event :(
    Each person needs a ray of hope to live... I guess larry just lost his.
    "We should not depress more a person who is already depressed." - true!..

    Ps: I replied to ur comment at my blog. n Thanks :)

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  11. Thanks for your comments Neha. What can I say.

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  12. Thanks for your comments MindfulMeanderer. I am sorry for Larry too.

    PS: I think you are giving me more praise to me than I deserve. I read your reply to my comment in your latest blog. Thanks.

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  13. Oh GOD !!!! What a truly horrible sequence of events :-((( I have this bitter taste in my mouth.. Depression is such a two-sided evil. It inspires some to come out stronger and others to buckle under so badly! :-(


    Btw I have linked one of your posts in my new post. You've been awarded too!

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  14. This is very depressing. We have to be careful when we talk to people who are already in a depressive mood. This should not have happened.

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  15. Thanks for your comments lostworld. It is so sad that Larry and his mother had to end up this way.

    Thanks for your award. It is an honor receiving it from you.

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  16. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. This should not have happened. As The Cagey Bee said these comments were made by his friends so that he does not commit suicide. But it backfired.

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  17. that is such a sad story..i had tears in my eyes as i read it..so sorry to hear this, SG...hope Sam finds the strength..

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  18. Thanks for your comments Titaxy. I can feel the sadness in your mind when you were reading this post. By the way, this happned a few years ago. Sam has recovered but he still could not forget the whole episode.

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  19. While reading it I thought it was fiction! It was so sad even if it was fiction, if it is true as you say it is quite tragic.

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  20. Thanks for your comments Mridula. And welcome to my blog. It is quite tragic. I even talk to
    Sam today and he was...i dont know what to say.

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  21. sad indeed..yaa he could have shot her rather than giving her such a painful death

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  22. Visited your blog after a while and wasn’t prepared for a post such as this. I hope Sam and Charles find strength to move on. It must have been painful for Larry to kill his own mother. Indeed an unfortunate incident.
    A depressed mind can easily be influenced. Wish those visitors had dealt his situation in a better way.

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  23. Thanks for your comments AS. That is what my point exactly. He should not have done this. Having decided to do, he could have used a less painful way. So sad.

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  24. Thanks for your comments Shruthi. And, welcome back. Visitors should have used discretion. I have no idea what happned to Charles. But I am in frequent contact with Sam. He has overcome this and leading a normal life.

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  25. I am stunned and very very sad to read this,just wish somebody could do something.....even I feel that most of the people who visit sick people almost always end up aggravating the situation..either by advising many doctors or many medicine, or telling their own horror stories or telling the people about the probabilities.

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  26. Thanks for your comments Renu. I understand what you are saying. It is very sad.

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  27. yeah...yes..though iam not a political analyst by profession i follow politics in india for about 10 years now its one among my varied interests...thats why i wrote about the language controversy thing...Happy Blogging SG

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  28. Thanks for your comments Deepa. And, welcome to my blog.

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  29. OMG!!! Reading this was both sad and gruesome at the same time.

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  30. Thanks for your comments Jayashree. It is very sad.

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  31. Very touching...it is true Our words weigh a lot and we need to be careful were we download them and the manner in which we do.. it could actually make or mar a situation.

    Such a sad ending which could have been avoided..

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  32. I can't imagine how Larry felt those days knowing he was sick. He had to go through the painful stages of AIDS and on top of that depression also. It takes a lot to handle all that without the help of someone or group of people who can guide you and help you deal with the different emotions and pain of feeling sick. Depression is hard to handle and it takes a lot to get out of it. Larry had too much on his plate. He had the responsibility of taking care of his mother. He might have been angry at this life and at the fact that he had no way out according to him and according to ideas people put in our heads sometimes.
    There are people who could have taken care of Larry's mom. He had to take care of himself first.

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