AN unsuccessful murder attempt has left one man confined to a hospital bed for almost two years, fearful that those who wanted him dead might finish the job if he returns home.

It is a fear his family also shares.

The man, whose identity is being withheld for this reason, said he was shot in the back multiple times, limiting his mobility.

His family, unable to arrange alternative accommodations, has not visited the health institution out of fear that they’ll be asked to take him home if they do.

Now classified as one of the country’s social cases — meaning people who have been abandoned at hospitals by their loved ones — the man is appealing for a safe place to call home.

“From last year I tell them that I was discharged and they must come for me. From then on, no one wanted to take a call from me. They didn’t call me and they didn’t come for me. When I do get them and ask them why them nuh come for me, they say them afraid to carry me back to the same place,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

He shared that since then, he has only had one visitor, a trusted friend who often brings him care packages.

“My family would give [the person] stuff sometimes, and they would take it to me, but they don’t want to come to visit me…Them will just come and stay outside and give [the person] the stuff and let them come in, and then they would go away,” he shared.

A father of three adult children, he said he longs to see them again and misses the familiar warmth of their embrace. He shared that the hospital, while a safe place for him, has been very lonely, and he wishes he could return to the outside world.

“I just want them to get somewhere they could let me go and stay and not be in the hospital. Maybe I could have my friends and other people come and visit me [there], at times. I just wish I would have somewhere to go but here,” he said, tears welling up in his eyes.

“Sometimes me sad. Sometimes me deh here, and I cry and them stuff there,” he told the Sunday Observer, wiping tears from his eyes that he could no longer hold back.

However, each time he removed a teardrop — which was evidence of his pain — another rolled down his cheek, prompting him to repeatedly grab a rag from his bedside table to wipe his face.

After a few seconds, he collected himself and apologised to this reporter. He shared that he was simply heartbroken about the situation and could not contain his emotions.

“Sometimes me deh here and is just the grace of God keeping me alive. Sometimes I wish I even would just die and get it over with,” he shared.

“Me just sad that I’m in the hospital because on holidays I used to go out and those stuff. I’m not sure what I would be doing, but I know I would be going out to enjoy myself, maybe go to the country,” he told the Sunday Observer.

As he reflected on fond memories, he shared that he loves to swim and would always be near an open body of water, soaking up the sun before he took a dive off the coast.

While his dreams of swimming again won’t materialise because the gun attack resulted in him being paralysed, he still hopes to one day revisit the sea and take in the familiar scent of saltwater.

“I just wish they could just find somewhere to put me to go so that I could just be out of the hospital. Sometimes I might can go visit the sea and those places, even the rivers or so,” he shared, appealing for anyone who can assist to come forward.

The issue of social cases in hospitals has been a growing concern for Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who said it is putting a strain on hospital resources. Tufton has, over the years, made several appeals for family members to take their loved ones home. However, the problem persists.