An elderly British woman with Alzheimer’s disease, who cannot walk or speak, will be snatched from her loved ones and deported from Sweden because she cannot obtain an updated passport in a move described as “cruel” and “extremely traumatic”. “.
Widow Kathleen Ball, 74, moved to Sweden from Macclesfield, Cheshire, 18 years ago to be close to her son, Wayne, his Swedish wife, Angelica, and their four children.
But the bedridden pensioner developed dementia 11 years ago and has been in nursing home for the past decade. She is now so incapacitated by the degenerative disease that she cannot feed herself or go to the bathroom without assistance.
The helpless grandmother now faces being expelled from the country after her family’s bid to stay for her is rejected. Ms. Ball’s loved ones told the authorities that she did not have a passport because she was too ill to travel and did not need one.
However, their pleas appeared to fall on deaf ears, with officials from the British Embassy in Stockholm telling them on Friday that Swedish police were in touch “pressure” to find a care home in the UK for Ms Ball.
Widow Kathleen Ball, 74, (center) moved to Sweden from Macclesfield 18 years ago to be close to her son Wayne (right), his Swedish wife Angelica (left) and their four children
Her family says they have not updated her passport because she is bed-bound and unable to travel. Mrs. Ball in her bed in a nursing home in Sweden
“It is impossible to say how long it will take, but when we find a nursing home willing to take your mother in, the police will give us a date to travel and we will have to issue an emergency passport,” said an embassy official. Paul, Watchman mentioned.
Speaking of his mother’s ordeal, her angry son Wayne previously said, “I’m devastated and angry. It is inhumane to transport someone with Alzheimer’s who is so sick that they can’t even take care of themselves.
It is a shame that this is the case and that he went so far as to deport. No words can describe this and the tearing apart of our family is horrific.
The impact of the Swedish authorities’ decision to leave her 11-year-old son, Angelica, said he now fears the police will snatch his grandmother away.
Children are affected. She added that they are not the ones who have to deal with their anxiety and nightmares.
Kathleen, the former maid, developed Alzheimer’s disease when she was sixty-three. The crippling degenerative disease, which is getting worse over time, means she can no longer take care of herself.
The widow needs to be lifted from her bed by her caregivers to be seated in a wheelchair. It is also used as incontinence pads.
Her loved ones said they applied for her to stay in Sweden before the 2021 deadline. However, the application was denied because she did not have a passport.
In happy times: Mrs. Ball hugs one of her grandchildren. She now faces deportation from her family and deportation to the UK, having not lived there in 18 years
Ms. Ball developed dementia 11 years ago and has been in care for the past decade. She is now so incapacitated by the degenerative disease that she cannot feed herself or go to the bathroom without assistance
“She can’t leave her bed, so she never needed to get a new passport and we explained that,” her daughter-in-law Angelica told The Guardian in February.
In September last year, her family received the news that they were all afraid that she would be deported.
Police reportedly showed up at the family’s home in January when her loved ones – who do not have power of attorney – were unable to provide her with the documents needed to stay in Sweden.
The family said that officers kept going through the pensioners’ wardrobes and dispersing through her clothes before questioning her caregivers.
‘I am very angry. It is shameful and ironic that after 18 years in the country this is all happening because of Brexit, Angelica said.
News of Ms Ball’s plight has enraged campaigners, who today slammed the Swedish authorities’ decision – with Labor MP Hilary Benn calling it “absolutely appalling”.
Councilor Laura Judah, who represents Macclesfield South on Cheshire East Council, told MailOnline: ‘I think it’s shocking. It’s so cruel… I’m really surprised in Sweden. We know them for being so caring – their social care is really good.
“It’s just weird that they would pick on a woman that age who has this extra complication of dementia.”
‘Cruel’ and ‘absolutely shocking’: Labor MP Hilary Benn, left, has criticized Sweden’s move to deport Ms Ball, formerly of Macclesfield. While local councilor Laura Gyuuda (right), who represents Macclesfield South on Cheshire East Council, criticized the decision to deport the pensioner as “cruel”.
“We do not know what will happen to that poor woman if she is separated from her family and taken to a strange county which she will not remember.”
The Labor Council member called on Whitehall to intervene and oppose the Swedish authorities’ decision.
Describing the fiasco as “another downside to Brexit,” Ms Judah added: “We need to get something from the government on this, otherwise what can we say about our old people – don’t they really matter?”
While David Milstead, a British physics professor in Sweden who is part of a British group in Sweden, attacked the police, saying they were ‘just doing a box exercise’ about what she could take with her rather than saying ‘this is so unreasonable, they shouldn’t This happens.
Under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, UK citizens living in the EU prior to the 2016 referendum were granted the right to remain.
However, in many countries, it included completing applications and paperwork to prove historical rights under freedom of movement rules.
A Swedish government spokesperson said it was “unlawful” to comment on any immigration issue.
A Foreign Office spokesperson added that it “supports” Ms Ball and her family.
The European Commission said it was “aware” of Ms. Paul’s case and was “in contact” with the Swedish authorities.
Alzheimer’s disease affects around 850,000 people in the UK and 5.8 million in the US, but charities fear that worldwide incidence rates will rise in the coming decades as the population ages.
