“He seems to think he is in Skövde”
share-arrowDela
unsaveSpara
expand-left
full screen Borås resident Claudia kept an eye on the 90-year-old: “I just didn’t want him to get away,” she says. Photo: Private
On a freezing winter evening, a 90-year-old man escapes from a dementia home.
He does not know where he is, where he is going.
Fortunately, 19-year-old Borås resident Claudia Björk is starting to feel bad.
On January 16, a 90-year-old man escapes from a dementia home east of Borås, where he lived for two months. It’s dark, it’s about 6 p.m., and it’s twelve degrees below zero.
The man makes his way to a bus stop. There he meets Claudia Björk, 19, who is going to a grocery store.
The older man wants to start a conversation, she tells Aftonbladet.
– He asks when the bus to Borås leaves. At first I think he means central Borås, but then it seems he thinks he’s in Skövde. And then there’s something not right, so I keep asking where he’s going, Claudia says and continues:
– Finally the bus arrives and the man gets on. He sits behind me and during the bus journey I keep an eye on him. We get to my stop and I’m about to get off, but I want to make sure he knows where he’s going. So I ask again. Then he seems confused. So I’m staying on board.
Claudia goes on with the 90-year-old, who first says he’s going to one street, then to another.
– He is calm, but quite confused. The last street he mentions is in an area we’re approaching, so I think we’ll go off there and see if there’s anyone we can call.
Claudia and the 90-year-old get off the bus at Sjöbo torg, and she takes the man into Coop, so he won’t freeze.
– I have never had contact with people with dementia before, but I just don’t want him to go away, she says.
Claudia gets the home phone number of the 90-year-old’s wife, which she calls. She explains what happened to the man’s wife, who is appalled.
– She seems very shocked that he has ended up so far away.
“A mystery”
The 90-year-old’s wife contacts her son Leif Kauppila, who appears accompanied by staff from the dementia home.
– Leif tells us that the father escaped from the accommodation and thanks so much for the help, says Claudia.
Leif Kauppila, 52, says that it is shocking to receive the news that the father traveled six kilometers from the residence.
– At first I don’t think it’s true, the thought is “How did he manage to get to the other side of town?”. I call the dementia home, and they are really looking for dad, he says and continues:
– Then I go quickly to Sjöbo torg and meet them. Dad is fine when I get there, he’s fit and well. I think he was on his way home to mom that day.
expand-left
full screen Leif Kauppila, 52, says that it was shocking to receive the news that the father traveled six kilometers from the residence on his own. Photo: Private
How the 90-year-old got out unnoticed is a mystery, he says.
– The staff at the residence do not understand how he managed, among other things, you have to take an elevator to get out. I also don’t understand how he found the bus stop, 400 meters away and behind buildings. But he was dressed for the outdoors, with a jacket, scarf, winter cap and an extra cap in hand.
In retrospect, Leif feels great gratitude for Claudia’s effort – and it was obvious to contact Swedish Heroes.
– Claudia never left him. I am so grateful that she was so attentive. Otherwise it could have gone badly for dad, because no one would have known where he was. No search effort had found him, as he was on the other side of town, six kilometers from the residence.