Barry Dodge - repatriation
Donation protected
My dad is presently in the Perpetual Succour Hospital in Cebu City, Philippines. Myself and my family would very much like to bring him back to Canada but due to his current medical condition he would need to be brought back on a commercial flight accompanied by two nurses.
So here is his story that reads like a terrible movie:
My dad taught for 35 years with the District School Board of Niagara. He was a well respected teacher loved by many. He was a baseball and soccer coach coaching many of the students he taught. He even taught and coached me through many years of competitive fastball. He was the best and cared for all of his students and teammates.
After he retired in 2001 he went on a trip to Indonesia, Thailand and finally the Philippines. In the Phillipines he met his future wife. My Dad moved to Cebu to take care of her , her children and family in 2005. The relationship deteriorated. Recently we learned that my Dad was verbally and physically abused by his Phillippine wife. On one occasion she pushed him down stairs, and, on another occasion stabbed him with a knife. She gave birth to three other children and tried to suggest they were his biological children. We have discovered they are not his children.
Every summer my Dad returned to Canada to Niagara to visit his mother (who is now 95), family and friends.
While in Niagara my Dad would stay with his good friend, Moe, or me. He would reconnect with his friends, family, and students he taught.
In recent years we observed that his demeanor changed. He did not appear to be in good health and, to his family, he appeared to be unhappy and depressed.
During his recent summer visits home he expressed an interest in permanently returning to Canada. He was very much stressed and getting depressed at his situation.
We have come to learn that his wife was unfaithful to him. During his summer visits home she would get involved with other men. She has given birth to three (3) children by men other than my Dad.
Last September upon his return to the Philippines he started drinking excessively to the point where he no longer was happy. He suffered a fall at his home in December 2014 under suspicious circumstances. His wife has serious mental issues and been admitted to a mental facility several times. Since his fall she did not provide him with any care and, instead, placed him on a mattress on the second level of the house and provided him with only alcohol and random drugs. She was literally starving him.
His family and friends became concerned for his welfare after many weeks of not hearing from him via email. After trying to reach him without sucess by phone, we contacted a family member of his wife's as they were concerned also. Many times they tried to visit the house but "she" would not let anyone in as she had barricaded the door. I advised them to contact the authorities who entered the house to find my dad on a mattress in his own feces, incredibly thin and disoriented.
At this point his wife was arrested and my dad was taken by ambulance to the hospital on February 11th where he has remained since.
He has been bedridden this entire time and refuses to stand on his own or transfer to a wheelchair. He receives weekly physiotherapy at bedside. The doctor states that he babbles and talks about past experiences and hallucinates. He has trouble connecting with reality.
We feel that he needs to be brought back to Canada for the proper treatment and care where he will be surrounded by his family and friends who will help nurse him back to health and a positive recovery.
We have contacted Fox Flight and Angels of flight in the hope to raise the required money to return him home. The estimated amount of this is $30,000.00 plus cost of care once he is back in Canada as he will have to wait until he is approved by OHIP.
Our family would so very much appreciate any amount of donation that you are able to give. This past year has been such a terrible nightmare and we just want my dad home.
Thanks so much.
Sincerley,
Megan
So here is his story that reads like a terrible movie:
My dad taught for 35 years with the District School Board of Niagara. He was a well respected teacher loved by many. He was a baseball and soccer coach coaching many of the students he taught. He even taught and coached me through many years of competitive fastball. He was the best and cared for all of his students and teammates.
After he retired in 2001 he went on a trip to Indonesia, Thailand and finally the Philippines. In the Phillipines he met his future wife. My Dad moved to Cebu to take care of her , her children and family in 2005. The relationship deteriorated. Recently we learned that my Dad was verbally and physically abused by his Phillippine wife. On one occasion she pushed him down stairs, and, on another occasion stabbed him with a knife. She gave birth to three other children and tried to suggest they were his biological children. We have discovered they are not his children.
Every summer my Dad returned to Canada to Niagara to visit his mother (who is now 95), family and friends.
While in Niagara my Dad would stay with his good friend, Moe, or me. He would reconnect with his friends, family, and students he taught.
In recent years we observed that his demeanor changed. He did not appear to be in good health and, to his family, he appeared to be unhappy and depressed.
During his recent summer visits home he expressed an interest in permanently returning to Canada. He was very much stressed and getting depressed at his situation.
We have come to learn that his wife was unfaithful to him. During his summer visits home she would get involved with other men. She has given birth to three (3) children by men other than my Dad.
Last September upon his return to the Philippines he started drinking excessively to the point where he no longer was happy. He suffered a fall at his home in December 2014 under suspicious circumstances. His wife has serious mental issues and been admitted to a mental facility several times. Since his fall she did not provide him with any care and, instead, placed him on a mattress on the second level of the house and provided him with only alcohol and random drugs. She was literally starving him.
His family and friends became concerned for his welfare after many weeks of not hearing from him via email. After trying to reach him without sucess by phone, we contacted a family member of his wife's as they were concerned also. Many times they tried to visit the house but "she" would not let anyone in as she had barricaded the door. I advised them to contact the authorities who entered the house to find my dad on a mattress in his own feces, incredibly thin and disoriented.
At this point his wife was arrested and my dad was taken by ambulance to the hospital on February 11th where he has remained since.
He has been bedridden this entire time and refuses to stand on his own or transfer to a wheelchair. He receives weekly physiotherapy at bedside. The doctor states that he babbles and talks about past experiences and hallucinates. He has trouble connecting with reality.
We feel that he needs to be brought back to Canada for the proper treatment and care where he will be surrounded by his family and friends who will help nurse him back to health and a positive recovery.
We have contacted Fox Flight and Angels of flight in the hope to raise the required money to return him home. The estimated amount of this is $30,000.00 plus cost of care once he is back in Canada as he will have to wait until he is approved by OHIP.
Our family would so very much appreciate any amount of donation that you are able to give. This past year has been such a terrible nightmare and we just want my dad home.
Thanks so much.
Sincerley,
Megan
Organizer
Megan Dodge
Organizer
Saint Catharines, ON