Retired policeman appeals for artificial leg
He was once an active and dedicated policeman: today he is confined to a wheelchair, dependent and helpless. His one hope now is to get an artificial leg so he could be more independent.
Michael Rodrigo, 78, is a widower – his wife having passed away in March 2011. “I consider myself to be an invalid and I have lost so many things dear to my life and I sit alone thinking about them every day,” he says despondently.
Yet life was different when he was a young man serving in the Police Force. “I’m originally from Ettukala and my first appointment was to the Jaffna Police station in 1958,” he says. He had served there as a stenographer. He married in Jaffna and has five children.
He was promoted a sergeant in1977, an achievement he remembers with pride. He left the service on his own accord at the age of 50 in 1986 after 28 years in the police service. After retiring he joined Central Finance as an investigator in 1992 and worked there for eight years.
Life changed when he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2006. Even after continuous treatment and medication his condition only worsened, resulting in the amputation of his right leg just below the knee in 2009.
He is being taken care of by his eldest daughter at her house in Negombo. “I move about in a wheelchair since my leg was operated. It is my daughter who looks into my needs and takes care of me. I find it really hard to do things on my own and I feel like I’m a burden to my daughter who does so much for me and who has three children to look after,” Mr. Rodrigo says.
His letters to charities requesting for an artificial limb have gone unacknowledged. “I really want to stand on my feet, and not become a burden to anybody. I’d be forever grateful to any kind hearted person who could help me get an artificial limb,” he says hopefully.
Those who could help are kindly requested to contact him on 0315678900.