I was sitting in the living room of our childhood house. I had several things on my mind. One of the things that was on my mind was how I could convince my younger brother Leslie that he needed to seek medical attention ASAP!

Yesterday I learned from Leslie that a doctor at the Doctors Hospital had confirmed to him that he had indeed had a deep vein thrombosis or blog cloth in his leg. The doctor made the diagnosis on the basis of an image that Leslie submitted to him via his mobile device.

Leslie had also attended the HSA for an examination related to the same issue. This was sometime in February 2020. When he returned he said the HSA doctor told him he had a fracture in his leg.

Leslie appeared to suffer a mini-stroke the next month. He attended the HSA again and said they told him to check his heart. The Covid19 lock down began around the same time.

Leslie appeared to have been suffering from another mini-stroke yesterday. I noticed him favoring one arm as he took away the recycling as his mother instructed him to do.

I went out to assist him after noticing his condition. I asked him if his arm was on pins and needles again. He replied yes and said he didn’t know why.

I told him to let me load the recycling and I’d go with him to unload them as well and explain to him what was happening to him. I had begun doing some research after having several dreams about my brother and I realized that he was in serious danger and needed to get medical attention immediately.

I explained the situation to him and told him I would accompany him to the hospital and that we had to go there right after unloading the recycling. He laughed and said he knew I wouldn’t want to wait around there. I told him that I was asking him to go so that was not a valid excuse.

He declined to go. After some more insistence, I told him I would call the ambulance for him after we got back to the house and would accompany him to the hospital if I was allowed.

He told me if I did that he would tell the EMT s that he was not going. At that point I thought the only hope left was to get his mother to instruct him to go to the hospital.

I explained the situation to her after we got back to the house and her reaction was to say ”it’s going to come through?’ with a strange expression on her face.

At that point I realized the possibility of losing my brother was greater than I had ever anticipated. I thought I had to figure out someway to get him to the hospital.

Well fast forward to today. I asked Leslie to stay off his leg as much as possible. However, around noon his mother decides to send him on another one of her meal delivery runs to our sister’s house.

She sent him on meal delivery runs almost every weekend. He was her delivery and errand boy!

I jumped out of my seat and protested on Leslie’s behalf! I told his mother that he had to stay off his legs in his condition. She shouted that Leslie told her the doctor told him he only had a fracture!

She showed no concern whatsoever about the consequences if he did indeed have a blood cloth. Instead of joining my protest, Leslie got upset with me! He pointed at me and ordered me to go back inside. He had an upset expression on his face. Sadly my brother had been well enlisted by his mother, siblings and others.

I told those present, his mother, younger sister, and himself that his mother might not have a delivery boy next weekend. I then implored our youngest sister to support her brothers.

She had done research on heart conditions and was the first to notice what appeared to be a blood cloth. She was also the first to make the connection between Leslie’s physical features and a condition called cyanosis. However, she was not very forceful in convincing her brother regarding the gravity of his condition.

Leslie started his car and drove out and away. I don’t recall if he returned quickly or not. He would usually stay out for several hours whenever he left the house. It was never much of a hospitable place for him anyway. I never blamed him for staying away as long as he could.

In fact in keeping a promise I made to our maternal grandmother, I encouraged him to leave the house permanently as soon as it was possible to do so. Our grandmother said it was the only way he would live a long life.