A senior citizen suffering from Alzheimer’s lost his way home and kind strangers on social media helped his family in Vadodara find him and take him home, proving once again that the Internet is just as bad or good as the people on it.
Alzheimer’s is a condition linked to degeneration of the brain with ageing. An Alzheimer’s patient can forget who they and where they live.
On September 26, Ambalal Patel, 80, had been going about his Sunday routine, sitting on the home swing with the newspaper. Suddenly, he walked out of the gate leaving all his belongings including his ID and money.
When the family realised he had gone missing, they checked CCTV footage. They found out that Ambalal had gone to Yash Complex in Gotri at 11am. There, the trail vanished.
The family turned to social media for help. Ambalal’s grandson Nisarg Patel, who works with Walmart in the US, posted an appeal on Facebook.
“Dear friends, My grandfather (Alzheimer’s patient) mistakenly walked out of our home in Vadodara, and has gone missing,” Nisarg wrote. “His last known location (based on CCTV feed was near Gotri lake, Yash complex). I am based in the US currently but my parents and family members are in Vadodara. I request you to share this post in your group and be look out in your surroundings to help us find him. We humbly appreciate your help in this matter.”
The post was widely shared and some posted the appeal on Twitter.
Many people tagged Vadodara Police and Commissioner Shamsher Singh. Police Commissioner Singh quote-tweeted one such post by an IT Professional, Shripal Gandhi, on September 27: “Our teams are on the job.”
The family had also filed an FIR.
Soon, the leads began to come more from Twitter.
“All the unknown souls on the Net have been very helpful, especially Mr Shripal Gandhi who went out of his way to help us,” Nisarg, who flew down to Vadodara on September 29, told Vibes of India.
On September 30, they got to know that a security guard had spotted Ambalal around 8pm the day before near Sumandeep hospital.
The police also did not leave any stone unturned.
On September 30, Shamsher Singh tweeted: “Our SHE teams and crime branch are on the job. Putting best efforts to locate him. Alzheimer’s conditions are big big handicap in search operations. If you have Any clue , you can update SHE teams.”
On Friday, Ambalal’s family received an update that he had boarded a bus that was going to Gita Mandir, Ahmedabad.
Nisarg kept everyone updated through Twitter. At 12:33pm, he tweeted: “Latest lead. Dada boarded GJ18Z 6542 ST bus and get down at Gita Mandir, Ahmd. We are leaving for Ahmd to track the Cctv footage. Can @Vadcitypolice arrange for some help from @AhmedabadPolice?”
At 7:25pm on Friday, Nisarg updated that they had found his grandfather.
His tweet read: “Latest and last update: We found him with a lead from an auto driver. At Trauma center Civil hospital. Shripal ji you have been an absolute rock support. Please accept my deepest gratitude. Shamsher sir, thank you for pushing and doing the needful.”
Late Friday evening when he was feeding his grandfather, Nisarg told VoI: “Dada’s vitals are normal and we are taking him home so he feels comfortable and we can care for him.”
