Due to Hannah's blood clot in her artery, The Shakurs were faced with the difficult decision of bringing him home. Since Hannah cannot work, they could not financially support Aaron's residence at the group home. He is dissatisfied at home, and feels isolated. He had many friends at the home, and the home was good for Aaron. He was involved in the home, not only with the people, but with the staff and feels like he lost all of his friends, because they do not visit him at home anymore, and Aaron cannot understand why. Aaron has even stopped painting. He used to love painting, and art was a good hobby for him, seeing that it provided him with many benefits such as self-expression, it improved his communication skills, and helped him with sensory. Hannah describes him as having lost his zeal for life.
Aaron has also had to quit his job at Best Buy, because Hannah cannot drive due to her condition, and Ali has to work and cannot get off at the designated times he could need to, to take Aaron to work. Hannah tries to persuade Aaron to paint, but he doesn't. He sits and stares at the TV all day, and hardly speaks. He fiddles with the TV remote, taking the batteries and buttons out and puts them back together.
One day, Amir and Sofia came to visit, and they brought along their son Ramzi. Ramzi and Aaron used to be very close when they would all visit him in the group home, but when Ramzi tries to talk to Aaron, Aaron snaps at him and even uses expletive language towards his nephew, hurting his relationship he has with Amir and Sofia. Amir and Sofia decide that their son should not be around Aaron anymore, and cannot stand to see him act like this, since his transition to living at home. Sofia and Amir talk, and decide that they will provide the money for Aaron to rejoin the group home, because it will provide Aaron with a better quality of life and hopefully improve his mood and make him happy. Aaron even is able to get his job at Best Buy back, when he goes back into the group home.
In the group home, Aaron meets a girl named Rosemary, who lives in his wing, and also has autism. They form a special friendship and begin a budding relationship. She even inspires Aaron to start painting again, and paints her a picture of a flower to hang on her wall. One day when Amir comes to visit Aaron at the home, he notices all of Aaron's artwork. Aaron is actually very talented, and Amir thinks that Aaron could make money off of his paintings, so he helps sell a couple. His first painting sold for $250. Aaron was so excited, that he used the money to buy a necklace for Rosemary. When Aaron is on his way to give the necklace to Rosemary, he finds her having a tantrum and pounding her head against a concrete wall, and she is taken into a new wing, and Aaron never sees her again.
Struggling to find himself again, Aaron dedicates himself to his art, and Amir helps him sell it, making quite the profit. For the rest of his life, Aaron paints pictures for the staff at the group home and other patients. He paints them and gives them as gifts, and even surprises residents when they are having a bad day by giving them a picture. Aaron is living a happier life in the home, and he truly feels like he belongs there. Aaron dies peacefully in his sleep, at the age of 52, from natural causes. Although he had autism, his death was ruled by natural causes. He was known at the group home, as an artist and the group home, has dedicated the wing he lived in to him, by hanging up his pictures on the walls as homage to him, their artist.
No comments:
Post a Comment