At six a.m. on Sunday morning, Ebru of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is called by ambulance personnel. They are at the scene of a family whose husband died of natural causes that morning. Sir has a wife with an eighteen-year-old son from a previous relationship. Her son has a personality disorder. The paramedics are concerned about mother’s mental state; she has clung to her partner’s body and the paramedics just cannot get in touch with her. In addition, her son is still asleep and knows nothing. So it is important to ensure that mother calms down and with the support of the CIT can inform her son.
Ebru and her colleagues arrived at the residence and tried to make contact with the still very confused woman. This succeeds and Ms. slowly calms down. Meanwhile, her son woke up. His mother, along with the CIT, tells him that her boyfriend has died. The team accommodates the son while practical things are arranged with mother. As it turns out, her boyfriend is not registered in the Netherlands, so it is uncertain who will come to pick up the body and where Mr. can be buried. CIT consults with the police and together they arrange for the body to be retrieved and taken to the nearest funeral home.
Mother and son say goodbye to him in the home and find comfort with each other afterward. The CIT discusses with them how to get through the rest of the day. They choose to notify family and get together as a group.
The CIT wishes both much strength and leaves their contact information so that mother and son can get in touch if they need anything else. It was an intense start to Sunday morning, but Ebru and her colleagues are glad that mother and son were finally able to say goodbye with dignity.
