Some sad news to report. A guy I know pretty well is currently on life support in the ICU at Lourdes hospital here in Barretto. I wrote an unflattering post about him back in September last year. We haven’t had a recurrence of that drama since then and actually have gotten along pretty well on those occasions we’ve been in the same place at the same time. Greg’s big problem has always been the drinking, or more specifically, the way he acts when he’s been drinking to excess. And that’s pretty much all the time.
Anyway, his lifestyle appears to have caught up with him. It really came as no surprise that the life threatening issues he faces primarily involve the liver. His girlfriend texted me last night that the doctor said he had a “50-50” chance to recover. This morning when I went to the hospital to visit he was in a coma. The girlfriend has been in contact with Greg’s mother who understandably wants to wait a few days before pulling the plug. This afternoon the girlfriend asked me for some money to purchase blood platelets the doctor suggested so perhaps not all hope is lost. Still, it doesn’t look good at all.
It’s really a shame though. Greg is only 44. He retired after twenty years in the military and has been living here on his pension these past four years. And getting drunk most every night. Unlike me, Greg does hard liquor, often straight shots. I drink light/low alcohol beer exclusively and only rarely get drunk drunk. Comparatively speaking, my liver is not being similarly abused. Or so at least I keep telling myself.
When I first heard from Greg’s girlfriend my thought was to get him the hell out of here to an American hospital as soon as possible. Obviously he is in no condition to travel but it wouldn’t matter anyway because I was informed that Greg lost his passport two years ago! Who does that and doesn’t bother getting it replaced? When I asked about his visa status the girlfriend said “he’s an overstay”. Yep, that figures. If he recovers he’s going to face some pretty sever reckoning with the Bureau of Immigration. They’ll lock him up until he can be deported but he can’t be repatriated without a passport. What a mess he has made of his life.
The girlfriend is doing her best to hold things together and be there for Greg. I admire her for that. But she is broke and so is Greg. The road ahead for her is going to be very difficult whatever happens. I guess this situation puts my recent whining about having sad memories in perspective, doesn’t it?
Ah well. Life goes on until it doesn’t. In the interim the best we can do is embrace the small pleasures that really do surround us. Like these guys:
UPDATE: Greg died this afternoon. May his soul rest in peace.
Mama, put my guns in the ground
I can’t shoot them anymore
That long black cloud is comin’ down
I feel I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Wow.
“Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.”
—Shakespeare, Macbeth
Only 44. Unbelievable. Let Greg’s life stand as a lesson for those with ears to hear, then. That, I think, is Greg’s final gift to the world.
Oh, yeah: hilarious to see Lucky in wolf mode.
His death does serve as a reminder of my own mortality and the need to live a life of moderation.
ALways tough when someone you know passes. It definitely brings ones mortality to the forefront.
Seems like the things that caused Greg’s passing were of his own doing, so while I have sympathy for dying at such a young age, it is tough to muster sympathy for the road that he took to get there. RIP
Yes, he ignored the symptoms until it was too late. RIP.