Jerry Ellingsen, 80, was lost and confused as he wandered the Denver airport.
The Fort Meyers native, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s, had been walking around the airport with his dog Corky when he was approached by an airline supervisor who later phoned the police.
“He was very confused about general details of his life to include where he was at, where he was coming from, who he was coming to visit, and his family members’ names,” the police report noted.
Hoping to discover his story, the airline looked up the woman who had checked him onto the flight. It was his daughter Pamela Roth.
Upon phoning the senior’s daughter, they were informed Roth was “done with” her dad and didn’t want to be contacted again.
Apparently, Roth, who holds power of attorney over Ellingsen, had put him on a plane, texting his estranged wife a day earlier to inform her of the news. Roth told the wife she’d be responsible for the man’s care from now on— an offer the woman duly refused. Later, the ex-wife received another text from Roth, reading:
“If you need to drop my dad at a homeless shelter, that’s fine. I just want him to have a roof over his head. Please.”
“I have no use for him,” the ex-wife told a detective during a recorded call.
“I mean, a man that wants to kill me? Come on. I don’t want to live with him.”
In the end, officers had no choice but to bring 80-year-old Ellingsen to the Universtiy of Colorado Hospital.
According to WKYC, laws require hospitals to keep abandoned at-risk adults until caseworkers can find a placement for them— something that can take months and even years. In Jerry’s case, it was 182 days (6 months).
In fact, Ellingsen’s case prompted WKYC to conduct a 3-month-long investigation. In the end, they discovered a “healthcare epidemic” involving hundreds of people like Ellingsen being abandoned at Denver hospitals every year.
“Of those patients, about 30 percent had mental health issues like Alzheimer’s and dementia,” they reported. “Most of the stranded people were men over 40 years old.”
While professionals admit that caring for a relative with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming, there is assistance available. “Talking with families before they burn out can help,” clinical social worker Jessica MacDonald told Fox4 News.
“Education and support are key.”
“It’s so much better than waiting for a crisis to happen.”
“At the end of the day, this is our loved ones that we are talking about,” added Doug Muir, who oversees behavior health at Porter Adventist Hospital.
“As a society and community, we need to demand better outcomes.”
Hear the heartbreaking story below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
