Bhekimuzi and the missing money...

I blogged earlier about Bhekimuzi, the man who has had to stop all treatment due to liver damage and is waiting out the rest of his days at the respite unit. This week was very tough for him. I went to see him first thing Tuesday morning for our daily chat. I could see he was upset and I asked him why. He told me that his younger brother had stolen the only money he has to his name, 180 Rand (approx. $18.00) from his home in the valley. Bhekimuzi had left it there for his children so they would be able to take a taxi to come visit him.

It was clear that he felt upset, angry and sad, but he also feels rejected by his family as he’s in a respite unit waiting to die. Over the course of the week, he became obsessed with this money and my heart broke for him. He is a good man and all he wants is to help his children with the little he has, yet now, he feels he can’t even do that. I tried all week to take his mind off of the money, but with not much else to do, he just stewed over the issue. We went out for coffee and ice cream and we went on a few walks, but no matter how I tried, he kept bringing up the money.

I couldn’t help but think about what he must be going through. He knows he is dying. He knows that he is unable to leave anything for his children. And, now, he knows that he’s being abandoned by his siblings. It makes you realize how little these people truly have. One of the volunteers drove him to his home yesterday to see if they could straighten things out. I hope that he finds peace soon. This is a picture of him and his 13 year old son last week during a visit.