The Neighbors: Ronnie Update

Before Olene died, she took a mortgage out on her previously paid-for house to pay off all her debts and have some money left in the bank. Ronnie was to purchase headstones for Olene and Kenny.

Ronnie has ended up in the hospital several times since Olene's death. He has Hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver. The doctors told him that if he wanted to live more than a few months, he needed to stop drinking.

Three weeks ago, in the middle of the night, Chris noticed an ambulance in front of Ronnie's house. In the morning, he saw Misty come home via a taxi, so called over to see what had happened. Ronnie had been drinking 1/2 gallon of vodka daily and wasn't taking his medication. His legs were terribly bloated, and when he poked a little hole in his leg that night, they couldn't get it to stop bleeding. Misty called the ambulance. Misty was exhausted and wanted to get home to Murfreesboro. After she took a nap, Chris drove her back to Murfreesboro.

Apparently, Ronnie had been having some hallucinations and had seen his brother Kenny and Olene a few times. Ronnie said they seemed mad at him. I think that is because Olene had asked Ronnie to order headstones for their graves, and Ronnie has yet to do that.

A week or so later, after Ronnie was released from the hospital, he wanted to go get some food. On his way to his van, he fell and cut his head open. Our neighbor saw him and called an ambulance.

This past Thursday evening, Chris called to check on Ronnie. He offered to take the trash out and wheel the can to the curb. Ronnie didn't want Chris in the house, saying there wasn't much trash, and said he could manage to throw the trash out the back door. Chris wheeled the trash can next to the back door and left the lid open.

Saturday, Chris got a call from Misty asking Chris to go over and help Ronnie. He wasn't able to walk and Misty wanted Chris to get the door open and turn off the alarm so that paramedics could get in if needed. Chris went over to talk to Ronnie and found that he had managed to get the door open. Ronnie wanted Chris to run to the store for him and get some Lysol and something for him to eat. Chris said the smell in the house was horrendous, and he was gagging as he left.

After he delivered the food and Lysol, it was obvious that Ronnie wanted a little company, so Chris hung out with him for a while. He told Chris he was 'ready to see Jesus.' Chris asked him if he had made his peace with God, and Ronnie asked Chris to pray for him. Chris prayed for him and told Ronnie that Jesus wasn't mad at him. Ronnie cried. Chris told him that he was probably still alive because he had unfinished business God wanted him to take care of first. Chris said that he knew God was with him as talked to Ronnie, because he didn't notice the smell.

Today, Misty called and told Chris she hadn't heard from Ronnie. Chris left work to check on Ronnie. When Chris got in, he told Ronnie he needed to get ready to go when the ambulance came. In spite of the fact that Ronnie hasn't been able to get around the house, and the house is in a disastrous state (as you can imagine since Ronnie can't get himself to the bathroom or get to the trash can to throw food away), Ronnie didn't really want to leave.

We've found out a little about Ronnie's dad. He was an abusive alcoholic. (Misty broke up with Ronnie because when he drank, he started to get verbally abusive. She has continued to take care of him knowing that he really doesn't have any one else willing to do it.) Ronnie's dad ended up homeless after Olene left him, and he ended up dying homeless. The Salvation Army paid for his funeral expenses.