Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

There is always a special relationship between a father and his daughter(s). Fathers are seen as protectors of the family, be it to a son(s), but especially his daughter(s). When a father is seen as strong to his children, they tend to want to be just like him. However, for daughters in a still male dominated world, a daughter has to take on a toughness that some may not want to see, but know that it is necessary. Though daughters may have to take on a veneer of toughness, there is always that gentleness for their father. Darlene Caesar is showing those that she has the toughness to fight for her father’s legacy, as she continues to fight for a justice that she is convinced was denied her father. Caesar’s story came to light about 18 months ago when her father died under the care of doctors at Glenwood Medical Center in West Monroe in 2017. The events leading to Caesar’s father, Ivory Walker’s death, have been harrowing and heartbreaking because she not only had to contend with doctors at Glenwood, but also members of her immediate family. According to Caesar, Mr. Walker had a good relationship with her, as she was the caretaker of his affairs since his wife Mrs. Genobia Walker had died years earlier also at Glenwood. Caesar wasn’t satisfied over the circumstances surrounding her mother’s death at Glenwood, as she continues to fight for justice because she is also convinced/believes that her mother died as result of medical malpractice.

Caesar says that her father was doing well while he was living in his home that she had renovated to help make him comfortable. Another sister had been staying with him, but left because according to Caesar, she moved back to Dallas, TX because she “had her own life” to live. Still Caesar persevered, making sure that her father had someone to look after him while she juggled her job and time with her husband. The stress, Caesar said, was overwhelming. But Caesar never gave up. That toughness that Caesar “inherited” from her father would be needed, as she would find doors being shut in her face when she reached out for help, as her legal rights(power of attorney)to care for her father was suddenly taken away from her. She has tried to get satisfactory answers from Glenwood, nursing homes, Social Security and even the credit union where her father’s money was kept, all to no avail. The continued stress had begun to take a toll on Caesar’s health.

Caesar strongly believes that her sister who lives in Dallas with the help of an attorney who was disbarred, but has been cleared to resume his practice took her power of attorney away. That she says is another matter because now her father’s house is in “legal limbo”, as the siblings squabble over possession of the dwelling. However, it is justice first and foremost that Caesar wants for her parents’ deaths. Caesar said that she knows that she is on “a walk of faith”, believing that God will send to her the person(s) that can do what others have not done. Caesar also said that she “refuses to let go” of what happened to her parents. There are others who have gone through the trials and setbacks that Caesar is facing, and yet they prevail. It hasn’t been easy on Caesar and her husband, but Caesar is showing the kind of toughness from her father that is needed to fight for the justice that she believes in her heart, has been denied her parents. Say a prayer for her for justice. She would appreciate it.