Dark Days
We may have been all smiles during our past few visits to Ki Li Jia’s, but this family has seen some really dark times these last few months.
KLJ’s relapse has been daunting. His family was so hopeful the day they freed him from the corn crib he was locked in, more than 5 years ago. He was lucid then, he knew he did violent things when he was unwell, and was motivated to keep taking his medications so he wouldn’t hurt his family members.
He started to work. Found fire wood for his home. Cooked for his family. Odd jobs around the farm. He started wanting a wife. And was sad that no one considered him ready to get married.
His younger brother too was looking for a wife. But for many years was not successful because prospective wives and their families deemed the family too poor. How big a burden it would be to care not only for aging in-laws, but also a mentally unwell older brother-in-law.
Then his brother did find a wife. They seemed happy together. She worked hard alongside the family, planting corn and rice. She did not seem to mind that her husband was poor. She saw his faithfulness to the family and was a part of it whole-heartedly.
Then the unraveling began. KLJ refused to take his medication. He said was was much better. Signs of relapse started to show. One day he hit his mother with a stool and they had to put him back in the crib. Still, he would not take his meds.
Then his brother’s wife developed a mysterious illness one night and passed away. Just like that.
Just like that, the family has gone back to taking care of a loved one with severe mental illness, and their younger son is now a widower.
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