The interview with Börje Salming and his wife Pia in Expressen about the difficult time after Börje’s ALS announcement shook things up quite a bit.
One of the people who got hit at close range is Börje’s older brother Stig – who is of course sad but also really upset about the way Börje was treated:
Those in leadership positions should look in the mirror and think about what the hell they’re doing, says Stig.
It’s been a tough year to say the least for Stig Salming, 75. Exactly one year ago, on October 25, his wife and partner Lena passed away.
Meanwhile, little brother Bureh has been affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and his mother Karen is now 95 and has to move to a nursing home in Kiruna.
– It’s not just a refusal, at the same time you have to try to get some sort of order in relation to what you have around you, says Stig, who still lives in the villa in Valbo outside Gavle.
His voice falters as he talks about the past year.
– I don’t know how to think about it, time goes by so fast. You try to do things that make life more fun, but I don’t know.
Steig and Buret became orphans early on, and Steig served as Buret’s father and brother. Not least when Börje also moved to Gävle and Brynäs in the early 1970s.
Last Friday, Stig came home after spending two weeks in Kiruna to carry out everything his mum Karen needed to be able to move into a nursing home.
– I’ve been paddling and I got all the forms and got yes from my mom herself. She’s now on the waiting list for a place to live, so we’ll see when the time comes.
Did the mother respond to what happened to Bure?
– Of course she is disappointed and sad and cries a lot, but she also has a lot of health.
Herbaceous and awesome
Stig says Karen hasn’t seen Bureh since last winter, when he visited her in Kiruna.
– The ascent was planned for late summer, but then it was Börje’s trip to Canada that came on the way. We’ll see if he can take it during the fall, Steg says.
About two months ago it became public Puree Salming The patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, since then the disease has accelerated even more.
Yesterday, Expressen posted an interview with Börje and his wife Pia about what life is like after being diagnosed with ALS and living with an illness that gets worse every day.
Report has already affected many people.
– Of course there are many who call and complain and think about how he is and everything like that. It’s so sad and what a diabolical disease that it gets worse as it goes on. There will be such drama in everything. No, you are not feeling well at all. It is herbal. Horrible, Stig says and continues:
– You are completely helpless. Porgy struggled all his career, but here even the fight is not enough. It does not help to give everything, like damn this disease will come and take you.
In the interview, Pia Salming criticizes the way Bure has been treated by the health care system, and receives full support in this criticism from her brother, Stig.
– When Pia tells you how it is, you are disappointed at first and in the next step you think about the authorities who have these areas of responsibility. How do they really think? They must have some common sense, you can’t treat these patients that way. You can not only see them as a strange patient but also see a human. The resources are there, so you need to make sure that they are distributed so that those who need them can also access them.
Those in power need to address this
What pisses you off the most when it comes to healthcare?
– So, I’ve affected myself and ended up in the hospital twice with heart problems and once you get in the doors, it’s great. They take care of you in every way imaginable. I also had help from the palliative care team here at home at the end with Lena and it was great too.
– There is a lot that works, but in the case of Börje in Stockholm, where it is governed only by the interpretation of the rules, that if you are over a certain age, you will not get help. What the hell is this, this is absolutely insane. Admittedly, such a thing should work. The community is there to help each other, to be in solidarity? People in control of such matters have to deal with them so that there is order. We should not read about it in the newspapers. It’s not just about Börje, a famous person, but everyone who finds themselves in this situation should get help. We have this community to help each other, right? Steg says.
Stig says he tries to visit little brother Börje as often as he can:
– We communicate through Pia. I try to tell what I did and purée what he did and then I try to keep it together. Now Börje has started talking to this frog and I will try to start that too.