Epilog from Jørgen, a Mystery 2021.
Six years ago, a forward-leaning, talkative man with a top hat came over to me in Aarhus. He asked me if I was a photojournalist and if it was a 35mm lens I had around my neck. I said in amazement "yes" and listened. He had been on the needle for 40 years but never took an overdose. "Who is he?” I just managed to think before I had to laugh out loud about his stories. He was extremely eloquent with a special facial expression and an indomitable humor. We had good chemistry. Jørgen immediately invited me home to his apartment for some rock and roll on his speakers.
Sofie, from my team at school, suggested that I kept on following Jørgen. "Yes" but I got a little anxious about the thought of going really close to Jørgen, because his life had to have a serious backside and I didn’t know what the project would lead to. I had to do it.
We saw each other for a few months, then Jørgen became ill. In 2016 he was hospitalized most of the summer in Skejby on ward Q. He had tried it before, because all the nurses knew him, and they talked very well together.
Jørgen was hospitalized several times. Several of the other addicts in the environment told me that he should have been dead long ago, considering his age and years of abuse. Although the number of comorbidities at one time numbered four at the same time - he rose again. But why? His mother has already lost a son who was also an addict, and Jørgen denied that she should experience it again.
In the fall of 2016, the roles in our relationship changed. I was in a traffic accident. A back injury and concussion at the same time, it was hard hitting. Jørgen called. He was at his mother's home and had found the doctor's handbook. Jørgen gave me good advice for my situation and was worried. After a six-month break from each other, we finally saw each other at Jørgen’s mother’s home, on his birthday in December 2017. My mother drove me over there, and I thought "How will I ever come back when my mother has to drive me on reportage?''. The birthday brought us together again and it was an opening to get even closer to Jørgen, who has become an inspiration and friend for life. If Jørgen can rise after so many physical downturns, so can I.