- shared with permission,  including photos

A. and I spent today "doctoring". He was in great need of medical attention, a few very necessary tests and care.

It was very difficult to convince him to come with with me and he was often feeling much outside of his usual comfort zone throughout our visits of two medical locations. Now I know him well - his personality and physical and mental high-needs, and used our inside jokes and mutual understanding of "persuasion" to help him from acting-out when he felt panicked, paranoid, threatened or in need to flee.

He maintained his calm, and perservered like a champ, way past his mental and physical limits today, and with flying colours.

I managed to get us a free ride via Red Line Taxi from downtown to the hospital, but we were left to walk back from the hospital to downtown. After all my attempts  to request a ride from all OS taxis companies, and together carrying all of A's only belongings, including several heavy, large bags, we made it.

Red Line Taxi thankfully saw us briefly resting at a closed Safe N Sound and took us a few blocks to the downtown Rexall. We just missed OShare's dinner hour (we were both starving) but A's many scripts, several puffers, antibiotics for his many bloodied, skin scrapes and countless bacterially- infected insect bites, and his weekly blister pack was filled within 30 minutes.  Of course these are to be taken on a regular schedule with food, and water. Ouff.

It broke my heart to leave him as he desperately asked me to stay- but I promised to check on him later. Thankfully I found  him getting much needed rest, but heartbreakingly left sleeping on the street downtown Owen Sound as usual.  I shared that experience together with him often throughout this winter and early spring.

Owen Sound really needs to step-up in creating an overnight sheltering system for those most vulnerable- like A. and many others I now know.