The hidden Covid-19 health crisis: Elderly people are dying from isolation
Published by Jim Bowman
Jim Bowman covered religion 1968-78 for the Chicago Daily News, since then has written books, articles, etc., mostly on corporate history but also on religion (Company Man: My Jesuit Life, 1950-1968), and more recently on politics (Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters, -- Lulu.com, Kindle). Longtime Oak Park, Illinois, resident, he lives now on Chicago's North Side, where four of his and Winnie's six children live close by. View all posts by Jim Bowman
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Blithe Spirit 
It happened to my sister-in-law (never married). She had early to mid dementia. Once locked down and not able to eat with her friends, see our family, she had hallucinations, delusions, terror; the lockdown moved her further into dementia to where she couldn’t manager her phone to call us. She stopped eating (we weren’t told by the place where she lived or that she had a fatal bedsore on her cocyxx from sitting on her couch all day). All the while, staff of all sorts were in and out of the facility, as necessary. But we, who were keeping isolated were not permitted entrance.
By the time we were allowed to see her outside in June, she was a physical wreck and died a week later. Even as she was clearly dying, we barely got to see her.
I feel terrible anger at the lengths to which she was isolated from family who were her comfort and lodestone.
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So sorry to read this, Margaret. Such suffering.
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