The Long Run by Joan Sullivan Read Free Book Online Page A

Russian neuropsychiatrist Sergei Korsakoff linked to severe Vitamin B deficiency and including episodes of confabulation, of inventing memories to fill gaps in one’s personal internal narrative.
    He tried to obtain an advance on his pension, and a loan, from the Bank of Nova Scotia. This was brought to the attention of the Canadian Pension Committee, and they sought to administer his financial affairs “in view of this pensioner’s indebtedness and recent drinking episodes.”
    Admitted to Lancaster Hospital in Lancaster, New Brunswick, June 28, 1956, he had bronchitis, weighted “109 (striped to the waist),” and complained of ringing in his right ear (“Get a noise in my right ear all the time”), as well as a number of other non-critical problems including swollen feet and aching legs (“The right leg is weak. Feel not too bad”). He was warned about and reprimanded for drinking.
    Even from within the institution, he was still connected to his family. On June 2, 1956, it was noted, “Patient is on pass attending his daughter’s wedding in the States.”
    He was discharged “at own request” from Ridgeway Health and Occupational Centre on March 7, 1957, and returned to Newfoundland on March 16, 1957, “very thin, and extremely talkative.” His economic situation had not improved. “No bank balance. No cash on hand.” Mr. Ash had written Oliver Vardy, then Director of Tourist Development, to see if there was any hope of Robertson returning to work there, but that was “impossible,” Vardy replied, (using the word twice in his short letter) “as our staff is now at maximum.”
    Around this time, Robertson wrote a fourteen-page letter about his hearing difficulty, his penmanship much worsened by what he had endured over the few previous years, the words running uphill, and much underlined. 154
    The response, dated August 22, 1957, from Ottawa—concerning 497—Robertson, Eric—relayed that two “recent lengthy and poorly written letters have been received from this veteran, one at least obviously being written ‘under the influence.’ His main compliant seems to concern pension assessment for an ear condition.”
    Robertson’s health was declining, his deterioration fueled by his drinking. In 1957, he fell down some stairs and was admitted to hospital, where he was assessed along familiar lines:
    This veteran is becoming rather more rambling in his conversation and at times would appear to have hallucinations. Still drinks whenever he has the chance. He has been separated from his wife [since 1949] but states that she would come back from Boston if he got a job and gave up drinking. Showed a letter from his wife which was certainly most friendly and showed absolutely no animosity.
    In 1958 an Investigator’s Report found:
    He now states he is without funds or a boarding house, and most of his clothes are at the Cleaners and different laundries. His history of boarding in this city is well known and no one risks recommending him to [the] one or two that remain [in] which he hasn’t stayed. His health generally will fail if he continues in his present way of life. Domiciliary care is now his only hope of survival.
    On June 17, 1958, he was re-admitted to Lancaster. “He has not been a difficult patient, but does drink from time to time,” wrote the social worker. “He never gets nasty but is a great talker.” One of the things he liked to talk about were his friendships within the Nova Scotian track-and-field clubs; after the war, he said he had managed different teams in Newfoundland and they often competed on mainland Canada, particularly Halifax. He talked about renewing these relationships and perhaps even his business “although, from his history I would think this would be doubtful […] Mr. Robertson has adjusted well to hospital life but is simply getting tired of it here now.”
    At this point, Robertson hoped to be transferred to Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax, but this was denied, and