The Canarian Cecilio Hernández, 84 (he will be 85 in April), has a heavy heart. His appeal to the authorities in the Canary Islands to re-examine the case of his wife, Candelaria Pérez, 82, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and grant him a place in a residence because he is her only carer, although that she is also sick, has an effect and they have already obtained a socio-sanitary center in La Laguna, the municipality in which they reside. The woman is expected to enter next week.
Saying goodbye after 65 years of living together and of which, for 15 years, he has been their beacon in the face of the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease, is going to be difficult. Cecilio affirms through tears that he knows she will be very well cared for and that she will not lack for anything, but he acknowledges that the distance and loneliness will not be easy to manage. Of course, it is clear that he will not stop going to see her for a single day. He will take the bus and go to the center to be with her and accompany her as he has always done since their meeting in 1958.
The square came just ten days after Cecilio went public with the matter
The place in a public residence for Candelaria came just ten days after Cecilio Hernández went public with the matter and told of his desperation. “I thought about getting out of it,” he said then, overwhelmed by the pain of this disease which takes a little more from the person you love every day, and the financial anguish of having to live with only 300 euros per year. month. .
However, as the councilor for social action of the council of Tenerife, Marián Franquet, points out, the case was resolved so quickly because the “social emergency” of this couple of octogenarians was evident and they were also necessary to correct the administrative and bureaucratic error that occurred with Cecilio Hernández and his wife.
Petition in administrative limbo
Since 2016, Candelaria already appears in the files of the government of the Canary Islands, with the recognition of a place in a day center. Since 2019, she has received an allowance of 426 euros, but this will go entirely to pay for part of the day center and the rest is paid by Cecilio with half of her salary of 650 euros. His request for a place in an EHPAD had been in limbo for months, from which he emerged thanks to the call for help launched by Cecilio ten days ago. Without this SOS, the case would not have been solved.
According to close sources, it was in April 2022 that the Ministry of Social Rights (Unidas Podemos) of the Government of the Canary Islands became aware of the job application. At this moment, the documentación, que no fue remitida por Cecilio Hernández hasta cinco meses después, en septiembre del 2022, is required. adults. “Social workers should have been there to help and guide them,” the sources say.
From there, the Department of Social Services gave the go-ahead instead on a date that was not specified and it was February 1, just hours after Cecilio went public with his situation in the media, when the Government of the Canary Islands sent to the Cabildo de Tenerife, responsible for processing the places in the residences, the request for public space. What happened between September, when the square was recognized, and February 1, when the petition reached the Council of Tenerife, is an “unknown”.
After the request, the Cabildo de Tenerife decides to act ex officio. The Lobby administration sends a team to assess the situation of the marriage and concludes that it is a more than obvious case of social emergency due to the state in which Candelaria Pérez finds herself, the situation Cecilio’s mental state and the marriage’s lack of resources. Within a week his place was recognized.