Part of HuffPost News. In an interview, Niesen said she had no reason to contest Edith and Eddies marriage because it wasnt hurting anybody and it was making them happy.. In a court deposition, Cher said she was inspired last year when she saw a news story about Edith Hill and her newlywed husband, Eddie Harrison. I watched this documentary as part of a Oscars Watch I was doing last year. Shell be back in two weeks? MCLEAN, Va. - A judge says a 96-year-old woman whose late-life marriage to a 95-year-old beau made national news should be returned to her longtime northern Virginia home after the musician Cher promised to pay to fix it up. The recent marriage of two nonagenarians might seem romantic . One of Hill's daughters says the marriage was improper and that Hill's estate is now in question. She wore whore red high heels and a whore dress to his wake. She killed him. I know this may be a black mark on my heart and soul, but I sincerely hope Karma pays a long and painful visit to this so-called caregivers life. I guess expertise is in the eye of the beholder. On one occasion she called members of our family to tell them that Daddy was at her house, had taken too much insulin and someone needed to come get him because she had to go show a house (she was a realtor). A 95-year-old newlywed Virginia man has died just weeks after his 96-year-old wife was taken to Florida by family members. Somehow Ms. Niesen learned how to be an attorney, while still retaining ignorance and general stupidity. Meanwhile, because the co-guardianship arrangement had become untenable, an independent guardian for Edith was appointed by the court Jessica Niesen, an attorney in Fairfax, Va. March 1, 2018. While there are numerous issues to be sorted out, including questions about inheritance and where the couple will live, she would just as soon let the marriage continue. One of Hill's daughters says the marriage was improper and that Hill's estate is now in question. By late November, Niesen said in an interview shed become convinced that Ediths health and well-being were in danger and that Wright had no intention of cooperating with her attempts to oversee Ediths welfare. She is still a lawyer who is an expert in elder care. There was no abuse involved none at all.. It brought to the surface all of my feelings, all of my many many feelings. From that nursing home, after a series of miracles, he went home for three years until he became very ill and succumb to an array of illnesses in my home, in a hospital bed in my sunroom. If a woman is under guardianship she cannot alter her marital status become married without permission of the court, said Kelly Thompson, a Virginia attorney and immediate past chair of the special needs section of the Virginia Bar Assn. In that capacity, his job was to oversee Ediths guardianship arrangements, and he was involved with her case, off and on, for several years. In that capacity, his job was to oversee the families arrangements, and was involved with her case, off and on, for several years. That is what you do if you truly love someone. So Edith moved to Florida to live with Barber in mid-March. It begins in the fall of 2014 with Edith Hill, 96, and Eddie Harrison, 95, who were married only a few months before, enjoying a series of intimate moments dancing together, holding hands, exercising and chatting comfortably. Thats the other story of Edith+Eddie. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics. Eddie Harrison missed his wife, Edith Hill, dearly, and he longed for the times they were together, which all began the day they met in Virginia while playing the lottery. Bull crap! Harrison died in December, just weeks after Hill was taken away to Florida on the recommendation of a court-appointed guardian, but a custody dispute continued over who should care for Hill and where she should live. I looked her up just now. Caldwells bottom line conclusion: I recommend Mrs. Hill move to an assisted living community.. On my first viewing, the events depicted in the 29-minute film were unsettling. In this emotionally moving documentary, Edith and Eddie, Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison get married in Virginia at ages 96 and 95. Theyre trying to say it was some abuse or something, said Hubbard, Ediths brother. That oneSister cared for herMother (Edith) and the other sister tooktheirMom out ofthe only house she ever knew and then refused to allow the caregiver Sister to see her Mom before she passed is criminal. In a court deposition, Cher said she was inspired last year when she a saw news story about Edith Hill and her newlywed husband, Eddie Harrison. Jessica Niesen. Harrison died Tuesday. In an interview, Barber said she thought her mother would enjoy the trip and asked Wright to bring Edith back to Florida in July, in time for several doctors appointments. 2023 Kaiser Family Foundation. But as I immersed myself in the details of this case, I found myself reaching a familiar conclusion: real life is more complicated than in the movies. He knew that she said horrible things to my kids, we had conversations about it. McLEAN, Va. (AP) A judge says a 96-year-old woman whose late-life marriage to a 95-year-old beau made national news should be returned to her longtime northern Virginia home after the musician Cher promised to pay to fix it up. She described how she was moved to see footage of Edith and Eddie dancing and in love, and then later moved to sadness and anger when she saw footage shot for a documentary in December showing the day that Edith was removed from the home she shared with Eddie to be relocated to Florida. In an interview, Barber said she thought her mother would enjoy the trip and asked Wright to bring Edith back to Florida in July, in time for several doctors appointments. Niesen and Barber then went to Ediths townhome and were met by a camera crew waiting to film the ensuing drama as Edith and Eddie lay next to each other in bed, overcome by helplessness and dread a heartbreaking scene shown in the film. Niesen now has the task of investigating . I wanted him to be inour home, surrounded by loved ones, close enough that my Sister could come visit and have a place to stay if she wanted. She also offered to help pay medical expenses. In order of likability, best to least: Love Hard, Your Place or Mine and Someon. But she had other concerns. At all. In a telephone interview, Cher expressed frustration that Eddie and Edith had been split up against their wishes. Wright wrote in an email that all the questions were based on false allegations and that the film shows how much she did for her mother and stepfather. According to the care managers report, Barber thought her mother would be best off living with her in Palm Coast, Fla. while Wright wanted her mom to move back into her Alexandria townhome. Barber insists that wasnt true and that the couple spoke every day once she was in Florida sometimes multiple times a day. In October, Kate Caldwell, a geriatric care manager who had previously evaluated Edith, conducted a home visit. The film states that Edith and Eddie never spoke again. I have only one line: It rebroke me. Posturing by lawyers and case filings inevitably dehumanize the elderly and we were not interested in exploring these predictable events.. It was footage of Hill and Harrison dancing on a TV news report that caught Cher's eye, according to Wright. Long. It ends months later with the couple being separated by Ediths court-appointed legal guardian, with police on the scene, and Edith taken off abruptly to Florida. Thats the other story of Edith+Eddie. It devastated my heart! Was the marriage legal? I will go back on the 21st and inevitably make changes. He lived for her, and she lived for him. The 2018 Oscar-Nominated Shorts: Documentary Program was the 141st ticket I bought using Movie Pass. She never went to an institution. Learn how your comment data is processed. How do we cope with anger as a caregiver? In 1967, the Lovings won their case in Supreme Court to make interracial marriage legal. Here it is: In 2011, Edith was diagnosed with moderate dementia, leaving her daughters Ernestine Yates, Patricia Barber and Rebecca Wright to chart her future. All the bad emotions mixed on one big batch. Edith passed away last March of natural causes at the age of 98, after living with her daughter in Florida through the end of her life. Attempts to ask Wright about this issue and other questions were unsuccessful. KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Jessica Niesen, came to take Hill away from her home to Florida. Some state guardians are in it for the moneyyou cannot get more cold hearted that this woman. In an interview, Barber said she thought her mother would enjoy the trip and asked Wright to bring Edith back to Florida in July, in time for several doctors appointments. Reopened wounds from my fiancees passing because I also went through a very similar experience with his family and lets just say I was accepted and loved for over a decade and then as his terminal illness worsened, I turned into the mortal enemy. Turned out to be the most disturbing story in a very long time. The dispute also claims the marriage complicates Hill's care and living situation. (Eddie, who had never flown on an airplane before, declined repeated invitations, according to Barber and Niesen.). The pair's unconventional marriage made national news last year following an Associated Press article on the couple not only were they 95 and 96 when they got married, but the interracial aspect of their marriage was noteworthy. Caldwells bottom line conclusion: I recommend Mrs. Hill move to an assisted living community.. You remove your feelings from it all and do what is best for your loved one. And Jessica Niesen facilitated that. A son, Lewis McDaniel, died in early 2012.). hide caption. The film also purports to show how guardianship laws fail to protect vulnerable adults, according to a comment on its web site. . Theyre trying to say it was some abuse or something, said Hubbard, Ediths brother. Facebook gives people the power. The drama of the film is centered on a court-appointed guardian, Jessica Niesen, who orders Edith to be separated from Eddie and to move into her daughter Patricia's home in Florida.. But as I immersed myself in the details of this case, I found myself reaching a . Court records indicate that Hill suffers from mild dementia. At all. In January 2014, Yates, 77, gave up guardianship because it was getting to be a bit much and there was a lot of confusion going on, she said, allowing simmering family conflicts to reemerge. She never went to an institution. Edith + Eddie, a short documentary, is a gripping look at a couple in their 90s caught up in an intense family conflict over caring for an aging parent. . One month later, Wright suggested her mother visit Virginia over Easter to attend church and visit with family and friends, and Barber agreed to that plan. Horrible human being. He lived for her, wifes daughter says, calling theirs love story of the century, Heartbroken Eddie Harrison caught influenza and died at a hospital Tuesday. Sometimes Jessica goes by various nicknames including Jessica J Niesen. But that didnt happen. According to the care managers report, Barber thought her mother would be best off living with her in Palm Coast, Fla. while Wright wanted her mom to move back into her Alexandria townhome. You can support KHN by making a contribution to KFF, a non-profit charitable organization that is not associated with Kaiser Permanente. Now that Edith was married, there was no question of her leaving Eddie and returning immediately to Florida, Barber said in an interview. It reminded me of the frustration I felt at trying to organize my Dads finances and blindly trying to do my best to include people I felt aided in my Dads demise. The court appoints a third-party, Jessica Niesen, to act as Edith's guardian. While there are numerous issues to be sorted out, including questions. It was nominated. It was concerning, since Im the one who was legally responsible for her and I didnt know what was going on, Niesen said. The film also purports to show how guardianship laws fail to protect vulnerable adults, according to a comment on its web site, splitting up an aging couple. Cher Promises To Help 96-Year-Old Woman With Dementia Return Home. On one end I thought that I was watching a beautiful love story, then it turned into a dark hell. Ediths transfer was scheduled for Dec. 6 but Wright failed to deliver her mother to a location agreed upon in advance, according to Niesen. In a telephone interview, Cher expressed frustration that Eddie and Edith had been split up against their wishes. But as I immersed myself in the details of this case, I found myself reaching a familiar conclusion: real life is more complicated than in the movies. Niesen now has the task of investigating the marriage and protecting Hill's interests. khn.navigatingaging@gmail.com, As a mandated reporter, was the alleged abuse investigated? Heres what we ask: You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our khn.org site. Jessica Niesen is 46 years old and was born on 08/11/1976. That year, a court declared Edith incompetent and named Yates her legal guardian, according to court records. I trongly guided the conversation because it was my intention to bring my Dad to my home to die, not put him away in a hospice facility just because it was convenient for one or two people to maybe visit him for a few minutes at their convenience. And. But that, a judge ruled in February 2014, was impossible unless the home was renovated since the only bathroom was up a steep flight of stairs a significant fall risk for the increasingly frail older woman. Asked to investigate the circumstances under which Edith was wed, Bushman, the guardian ad litem, wrote in a court filing that he determined that Ms. I refused to consider a hospice facility, as that woman found out when she mentioned it in my presence. Dad used to call me his pitbull, fighting for him at every turn. (Although Wright claimed a doctor had seen her mother and agreed to the medication changes, when Caldwell checked, she learned that wasnt true, according to the report.). But that didnt happen. In a written report filed with the court, she noted with concern that Wright had taken Edith off medications for dementia, hypertension, constipation and osteoporosis. There are allegations from one of Ediths daughters about money issues and possession of the family home, as well as insinuations of racism (Edith is black, Eddie is white). Wright was not acting in the best interest of Ms. Hill at that point, because she was doing what she wanted to do and not working with her other co-guardian.. But that, a judge ruled in February 2014, was impossible unless the home was renovated since the only bathroom was up a steep flight of stairs a significant fall risk for the increasingly frail older woman. During the visit, Caldwell discovered that Wright was planning to move Edith and Eddie into her mothers Alexandria townhome and care for her there, even though the property hadnt been renovated, as specified by an earlier court order. And Jessica Niesen facilitated that. Attempts to ask Wright about this issue and other questions were unsuccessful. I was sobbing throughout. Meanwhile, because the co-guardianship arrangement had become untenable, an independent guardian for Edith was appointed by the court Jessica Niesen, an attorney in Fairfax, Va. Edith and Eddie had met more than a decade before the events depicted in the documentary, when they happened to play the lottery together and ended up sharing $5,000 in winnings. I reached out to Ediths family members including several who werent included in the documentary. Harrison and Hills marriage this June after 10 years of companionship was disputed in court. Is it possible to have a significant other while taking care of your parents? At that point, emails show Niesen let Wrights lawyer know she wanted Edith to go to Florida for several weeks while she looked for an assisted living facility or an alternative living situation. You should never work in that field again! I think so. This 30 minute documentary brought out all of my bitterness for the assholes in life that care only about being right above the person they are supposed to love. Jessica Niesen. He decided to remove both daughters as Hill's legal guardians and instead appointed another attorney, Jessica Niesen. This film is distorted and hurtful, said Michelle Davis, one of Ediths granddaughters. Niesen wasnt sure where Edith and Eddie were living; when she asked Wright for that information she was reportedly told they were moving between two Virginia houses on an unpredictable schedule. Since tying the knot, both Edith and Eddie have experienced an awakening; they have a new reason to get up in the morning. @judith_graham, By Judith Graham The two had been companions for more than a decade before they married. I reached out to Laura Checkoway, the films director, who told me in an initial interview that she became interested in chronicling the romance of Edith and Eddie in the summer of 2014 when they were reportedly the oldest interracial newlyweds in America. I wrote, backspaced, wrote again. Later that month, Harrison died. In that capacity, his job was to oversee Ediths guardianship arrangements, and he was involved with her case, off and on, for several years. Her goal, she said in an interview, was to remove Edith from an unsafe environment, not to separate her from Eddie, who shed invited to join Edith in Florida. Having taken care of my Dad, elder care is a subject that hits close to my heart as it is. This film is distorted and hurtful, said Michelle Davis, one of Ediths granddaughters. Harrison became distressed after his wife and longtime companion, 96-year-old Edith Hill, was taken away, Wright said. I do believe all three sisters loved their mother but they each had their own idea of how to handle things, said Joshua Bushman, who became Ediths guardian ad litem in 2011 at the request of the City of Alexandria, Va. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Gabe Winant is the author of The Next Shift: The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America. But Hill and Harrison said they wanted to stay together. She knew we collectively disliked her. When Hill did not return home as planned after two weeks, Harrison began to realize she was not coming back, Wright said. She also offered to help pay medical expenses. Painful. The fact that she did not give this man a proper funeral blows my mind. A son, Lewis McDaniel, died in early 2012.). Shame on you and I wish no good comes to you as a result of what you did. Newlyweds Edith Hill, 96, and Eddie Harrison, 95, married in Alexandria, Virginia, earlier this year after being companions for over a decade. Niesen says the marriage should be given equal treatment if found to be a good arrangement for Hill. Harrison stayed in Virginia. Shockingly, Eddie died only a few weeks later. I think it's pretty safe to say she failed royally. Her goal, she said in an interview, was to remove Edith from an unsafe environment, not to separate her from Eddie, whom shed invited to join Edith in Florida. McLEAN, Va. (AP) A judge says a 96-year-old woman whose late-life marriage to a 95-year-old beau made national news should be returned to her longtime northern Virginia home after the musician . Later that month, Harrison died. Was it Wright, who cooperated with the filmmakers and was living with her mother at the time? Subscribe to KHN's free Morning Briefing. The custody case over Hill remains ongoing, despite the judge's order that Hill be returned to Alexandria. Sometimes they are not. The reason? "Mom's coming home!" She would throw you under the bus if "under her eyes" got her ahead. Was it Barber, the daughter in Florida, who believed Edith needed what she felt was a more reliable living situation? Who is an expert in elder care Program of KFF ( Kaiser family Foundation ) then it turned a. After 10 years of companionship was disputed in court Ediths brother by making a contribution to KFF, non-profit! 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