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Time passed quickly and it is already one week since our arrival in Dublin. We visited Father Deane everyday, taking him out for lunch including a lunch with his good friends Bosco and Chris. Physically he is less mobile than before. Mentally we were told by the nurses that his condition was very bad and it was suggested that he had finally given up or his mind had so little stimulation that he had nothing to think anymore.
We tried during the week to talk with him about things he knows and I feel that at the end of the week he is better and a lot more coherent. He even managed to joke once. I am not saying his condition is good – he feels (he says so himself) insecure. In one instance, we asked him where he would like to go. His answer came back loud and clear about the desire to go to Australia – but he said almost straight away that "it is a lost cause". What more can I say.
It would appear that the Nursing Home where Father was staying is no longer taking in new patients that require the extent of care Father requires. According to Father Foster that unit may be closed within a couple of months. As such, according to Father Foster, Father Deane may have to be moved to a new nursing home soon. Father Deane was not aware of this at the moment. Although we are concerned about Father Deane we have no control and will not therefore be in a position to tell him about his future.
We arrived on the 20th and met Fr Foster at the nursing home. During the conversation, Bosco suggested that Fr Deane might be better off in Hong Kong with the Sister of the Poor – on the ground that Fr Deane is mentally not in Ireland and that he may get more visitors there – more people to talk about things he knows and interested in. It would appear that Father Foster had taken up this suggestion very seriously and wrote a letter to the Salesian in HK immediately.
This afternoon 27th Nov we met Father Foster again. He produced two letters which he read to us. The first was his letter to HK suggesting Fr Deane may be better off in HK. The second was a reply from the Salesian in charge of financial matters in HK indicating that as far as the HK Salesians are concerned, HK is the least favoured option. The reply also hinted on the fact that the Salesians are quite aware of the desire of some people to have Father Deane relocated to Australia, but did not indicate any consideration on this proposal. The letter according to Father Foster is that the HK Salesians did not want him to be relocated out of Ireland and suggested that Foster should concentrate on finding an alternative accommodation for Father Deane.
Well we have few more days in Dublin and we will try to do what we can for Father – mainly to cheer him up and to get him more mentally alert.
I am afraid though after we leave and when he is moved to a new nursing home, Father Deane will return to mentally void state.
Theresa Lee
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