THE health of Basil Parchment, the 74-year-old homeless man who has been sitting on the sidewalk on Mandela Highway for years, is getting worse.

“Right now ah facing a situation where I need surgery,” Parchment told the Jamaica Observer recently. “The doctors say I have a skin situation and before it gets worse I have to do a surgery.”

But the operation, he explained, cannot be done unless he has shelter, in order that he can recover fully.

“Doctors say for them to do the surgery I have to have a proper place to stay to recover and to ensure the surgery wounds don’t get infected,” Parchment said from his roadside spot.

Parchment’s story was first published on September 1, 2014 in the Observer after this reporter saw him sitting at the same spot near White Marl and Central Village for months.

At first, he refused to speak and residents of both communities told the newspaper that for more than seven years he had mysteriously appeared at the spot, where he sat for hours, braving the harsh weather. At times, they said, his only shelter from the elements was a piece of cardboard.

“He would just come there, sit in silence, and just stare into the distance. He hardly talks to people and he never asks for anything. He just sits at the spot and then leaves,” said Devon ‘Butter’ Smith at the time.

Another resident, Sydney Bryan, said: “I have been living in this community for more than 30 years and I can tell you that I have left this country on several occasions and everytime I come back I always see him sitting at the location.”

A few weeks later, on September 22, Parchment eventually spoke to the Observer, giving his name and telling us that he is from St Elizabeth but was living in Portmore, St Catherine.

“I used to live in Portmore for eight years at a house as a caretaker,” said Parchment. But that, he said, changed when people, out of envy, started to spread rumours to the owner who told him he had to leave as the place would be sold.

That resulted in Parchment losing his only source of income.

He explained that since that time he has tried to find employment and a place to stay.

“After mi try several times to find somewhere to stay and to find a job to go on earning, nothing has come my way,” he said at the time, adding that he was frustrated.

A few weeks ago, people who live close to where Parchment sits daily explained that since the story appeared in the Observer a number of individuals had visited the area expressing an interest in helping the senior citizen.

Parchment, however, said none of them have returned.

He said he was desperately trying to get in touch with his children, especially his daughter, who lives in England.

“I just want to get the chance to talk to her about some domestic issues; don’t want it look like I pressuring her,” said Parchment, his eyes weary from lack of sleep.

He was also dressed in the same clothing he was seen in last September and had a broken hand.

It was not clear what caused the injury, but Parchment told the Observer that in the past he had been threatened by criminals and has been robbed.