"I'm not going to stop until I see my son admitted, if God lets me live." This is the determination of María Isabel Arrocha, who has been demanding for years that her son be admitted to the Doctor Julio Santiago Obeso center for the mentally ill. This Tuesday she has started a protest at the doors of the Cabildo, where she has come accompanied by several of her children, daughters-in-law and other members of her family. With this she seeks a "solution" from the institutions to admit him. "I am living a very bitter life, seeing that this is getting out of hand and I am knocking on every door and nobody pays attention to me," she laments.
This sixty-year-old mother intends to go to protest in front of the Cabildo for two hours every day, until the day of reflection prior to the elections this Sunday. "If they don't pay attention to me with this, the other will be stronger," she has stated. Her conviction is therefore to continue until she manages to have her son, who is 39 years old, admitted permanently. Her son has already been admitted on other occasions, but for this mother the problem is that when he has "episodes" and decides to leave, "they open the door and let him out." For that reason, what she asks, she explains, is that "the doctor signs" the admission.
Just two weeks ago, Arrocha sent a letter to the media to explain her situation. In her letter, she explained that her son is "diagnosed with borderline intelligence, polytoxicology and mixed personality disorder, an illness that he has been suffering from since he was little." After having been admitted to the center, he returned home a little over five months ago. Her mother emphasizes that he gets "very violent" and "aggressive", to the point that María Isabel admits to being "afraid" of him. She assures that since then she spends sleepless nights, waiting for her son to return home and fears that "something might happen to him."
The Cabildo "asked me to stop this"
Since sending that letter to the media, María Isabel assures that she had "no response" until this Monday, when a Cabildo worker contacted her. She claims that she asked her to "stop this" and told her that "they could admit him", but she does not trust the word of the institutions. "They called her because they are not interested in her protesting during the campaign. After the elections, they wash their hands," defended one of the relatives who accompanied her this Tuesday before the Cabildo.
"They don't give me anything in writing, they tell me everything by word of mouth, and words are carried away by the wind. If they told me in writing that my son is going to be admitted, okay," María Isabel explained for her part. "I want the doctor to give the signature to admit him. So I did not agree to the call (to stop her protest) and said that I was going to continue with what was planned to see if someone gives me a solution. I can't take it anymore."
According to her, during her conversation with this worker from the Department of Social Services of the Cabildo, she asked her to have the councilor contact her to "explain to her, so that she can talk to the doctor and he signs." However, she affirms that the councilor, Carmen Rosa Márquez, has not contacted her. During the first minutes of Arrocha's protest, the councilors of the Popular Party came to inquire about her situation and have been talking with her and her relatives.
"My brother needs help"
Several members of her family have come with María Isabel this Tuesday. "We all agree that what my brother needs is help; and they have not offered it to him," said another of her sons. The problem, they consider, is that when he decides to leave the center "there is no one who can control him and keep him there." "What he needs is to stay there. That the psychiatry unit or whoever has to be signs the document so that my brother remains admitted, where the improvement has been remarkable," he demands.
He also points out that, although he and his brothers support María Isabel in "everything" they can, "we all have our lives and we work", that is why she is the one who is "having the worst time". This mother emphasizes that what she wants is "help" for her son, since when he has been admitted he has shown improvement. She also fears that something may happen to him, or that he may be helpless if something were to happen to her. "I don't want to go to the other world leaving my son abandoned. I want when I am gone tomorrow, my son knows how to defend himself as a normal person and knows how to do his things. Today, my son is like a little boy."