Four years ago, photographer Mehmet Kapılı, living in Belediye Evleri Mahallesi in Çukurova district, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His son Özgür Kapılı, a father of four, went to work as a seasonal laborer in Bodrum, Muğla, six months ago.
Allegedly, S.K., Mehmet Kapılı's spouse, showed no interest in taking care of him. Due to his busy work schedule, Özgür Kapılı couldn't come to Adana, but he regularly communicated with his mother and received positive updates about his father's health.
Over time, S.K. gradually stopped caring for her bedridden husband and eventually left the house. During this period, the house turned into a cluttered and neglected state.
Concerned neighbors, who are the couple's sons living abroad, called Özgür Kapılı and said, "Your mother is not taking care of your father. Your father is in very bad condition, and there is a terrible smell coming from your house."
Özgür Kapılı returned to Adana from Bodrum the day before yesterday and went to their home. Despite ringing the doorbell multiple times, no one opened the door, so he called his mother. As his mother still did not answer the phone, Özgür Kapılı informed the police about the situation. With the police's assistance, he broke open the door and was shocked by what he encountered inside.
Upon entering the house, Özgür Kapılı witnessed his bedridden father with overgrown hair and beard, emaciated and almost skin and bones. The house was in a deplorable condition, resembling a garbage dump.
Despite repeatedly trying to contact his mother, S.K., she did not answer the phone. Health teams arrived at the scene and took the elderly man to the hospital by ambulance. Inside the house, it was evident that the elderly man was staying in the same room as his soiled diapers, cigarette butts were scattered around the rooms, trash was piled up, the food in the fridge had mold and maggots, and flies and insects had infested the kitchen and other rooms.
Özgür Kapılı expressed his disappointment and frustration with his mother, stating, "I had heard rumors that my mother wasn't taking care of my father while I was away for work. When I came home to see my father's condition with my own eyes, the door was locked. I broke in and found my father lying in bed in that state. It's a disgrace. A person cannot leave their spouse in such a condition. When I gave my father fruit juice, I can't even describe how he struggled to drink it. We can't reach my mother."
He revealed that his mother used to be deeply in love with his father, constantly calling out his name and shedding tears for him. However, when his father fell ill and could no longer earn money, she abandoned him to this state. He sadly acknowledged that the woman responsible for his father's neglect and abandonment is, unfortunately, his own mother.
He added that he was shocked by the condition of the house when he returned to Adana six months ago, as it was not like this before. He searched through all the closets and found that there were no belongings of his mother. He suspects that she goes outside, only providing her father with one meal and a glass of water a day. Despite all this, he believes she goes about her life as if nothing is wrong.
Özgür Kapılı ended by saying, "My mother is as good as dead. I will make a dessert in her honor and distribute it to everyone before she actually dies. That's my promise." As for the elderly man, it was reported that his condition is improving while he continues to receive treatment in the hospital.
