Robert Lorentz has just a few months to live, so friends and family have banded by his bedside to make the most of the Iraq War veteran’s waning days. It’s a show of support that may cost the dying former Marine his home.
Emanuel Dobos, Lorentz's landlord, has threatened to evict the 37-year-old vet who has bone cancer from his Pheonix, Ariz., apartment because other tenants have been making noise complaints, azcentral.com reported. The landlord said he’s sympathetic to the former Marine's plight, but is also concerned that the people filling up Lorentz’s small studio are actually just squatters.
Lorentz, on the other hand, says he’s completely dependent on his visitors at this point and that they take care of all of his basic needs, including feeding and bathing him and cleaning the apartment.
“I’m deadly scared of hospice and nursing homes,” Lorentz told azcentral.com “This is around my family. It’s close to my clinic. It’s where I want to be.”
Read the whole azcentral story here.
While Lorentz’s case is heartbreaking, this isn’t the first time that a former serviceman has faced eviction while battling a serious medical condition.
Eugene Ovsishcher, an Afghanistan War veteran, has been living with post-traumatic stress disorder since returning from combat. On the advice of his doctor, the former Army sergeant bought a therapy dog, Mickey, who Ovsishcher calls his “medicine” and says plays a critical role in helping to calm him down, WCNC reported.
But the vet may now get kicked out of New York City apartment because the complex does not permit pets and claims that Ovsishcher has not proven that Mickey is, in fact, a service dog.
“I fought for my country,” the vet told WCNC. “I risked my life to make the country a better place. I don’t think it’s the right thing for them to kick me out.”
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