SAD ENDING IN HOLBROOK

“...Am I my brother's keeper?” (from Genesis 4:9)

If you live in the Boston area, you’ve probably been following this story in the news over the past few days. John “Jack” Burke, an elderly man with Alzheimer’s Disease went missing last Thursday (April 1) evening. He was wearing a Red Sox jacket and a blue baseball cap with the inscribed words, “Number 1 Papa”. I’ve seen Mr. Burke’s age listed as both 75 and 76 which makes me wonder if he had a birthday over the past week. It’s very common for elderly people with Alzheimer’s Disease to be constantly walking. Some call this symptom of the disease “sundowning”. It seems Mr. Burke was one who did a lot of walking. He left his Holbrook home at 6 p.m. on the evening of April 1 to take a walk and never returned. He was seen at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Braintree around 8 p.m. that evening. Several days ago it was reported that a police dog picked up his scent in Quincy near the Braintree line. Sadly, yesterday his body was found in a Holbrook wooded area. He had laid down and was using his jacket as a pillow. He had presumably become lost.

Last night, I saw Mr. Burke’s son speaking on one of the Boston television station’s newscast. He was sad but relieved that his father’s body had been found. He then had some very important words to say, encouraging viewers to be alert to notice a confused elderly person wandering around and should that happen, to contact the authorities. There IS a tendency many of us have that we don’t want to BOTHER people and that we may hesitate to get involved in such a situation. Had someone taken a moment to engage Mr. Burke in conversation during his final walk, and then realized the man suffered from dementia, and called the police, Mr. Burke would probably be alive today.

Mr. Burke’s case reminds me of what happened to my mother’s Uncle Arthur back in the 1960s. Arthur McDonald (he’d changed his name from MacDonald so people would think he was Irish rather than Scottish) was my maternal grandmother’s younger brother. Arthur had never married. He was an accomplished amateur boxer as a young man, and had spent many years as a Boston Police Officer. When his physical and mental condition badly deteriorated he was placed in (the former) Long Island Hospital in Boston Harbor.
Like Mr. Burke, one day Arthur went missing. He was missing for a month. Finally, my father who was very active in the Civil Air Patrol, organized a search on Long Island with the C.A.P. and other volunteers for one Saturday at Long Island. They found his body. I remember attending Arthur McDonald’s funeral. He had a flag draped casket, like John F. Kennedy did. The family was at peace that his body had been found and that he was able to be given a proper burial.

Many years later, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was so physically impaired that he could not walk for more than a very short distance at a time. His final days were in a nursing home, almost always in a wheelchair.

My heart goes out to the Burke family. I hope we’ll all remember Jack Burke’s son’s request and be “clued in” to watch for confused elderly people and be prepared to help when needed. For those of us who have had a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease, there is always the thought that WE may one day be Alzheimer’s patients. In fact, my father’s mother suffered from Alzheimer’s back in the 1950s. If one of your biological parents had Alzheimer’s disease, you’re about 25% more likely to someday be afflicted by it than are folks in the general population, and that number rises to 50% if both of your parents had Alzheimer’s.

Yes, it was a sad ending in Holbrook, but let’s take the admonition to heart about being alert to the needs of the elderly!