Man recounts rescuing brother with Down's Syndrome

Brothers Manni and Reuben Coe sit on the sofa of Reuben's assisted housing unit in north Dorset.

"My brother," Reuben whispers, tightly gripping Manni's hand.

It's clear to see that Reuben, who has Down's Syndrome, and Manni have a special bond that goes beyond that of most siblings.

"He looks after me, I look after him," said Manni.

"He gives to me just as much as I give to him. He's my buddy."

For seven years, Reuben lived with Manni in Spain, but one day everything changed.

Manni said: "Reubs was by himself and a really big storm came through and when a storm hits that part of Spain, Andalucia, at the end of the summer the whole house shakes, and he was frightened.

"As a result of that, Reuben began to cave in emotionally and it was a few weeks later when you had your breakdown, didn't you?"

Reuben nods.

"And from that moment on Reuben didn't speak."

Manni and his partner brought Reuben back to England and spent nine months looking after him, but when they eventually had to return home, Reuben decided he wanted to stay.

"We found a place for him that may have worked had the pandemic not hit.

"People with Down's Syndrome were put on extremely vulnerable list so all of a sudden, Reubs is totally cut off from all of us and that's when Reubs really begins to spiral."

Feeling isolated and alone, Reuben's health deteriorated and he began to give up.

In desperation, he sent a text message that read: "brother. do. you. love. me."

He nods as his brother continues the tale.

"This was an SOS. It was, you need to come and get me out of here."

Manni promptly returned to the UK on a one-way ticket and headed straight to the care home.

"They were understaffed, they were stressed, they just weren't able to look after Reuben the way he needed to be looked after at that point.

"So, we sped away in a rescue car, didn't we Reubs?"

The pair went to a cottage in Dorset where the two of them stayed for the winter.

"We had lots of hugs and lots of cuddles because Reuben hadn't been touched for months, and you missed that didn't you?"

"I am now," whispered Reuben, holding up Manni's hand.

"Little by little, we started our road to recovery," Manni added.

Eventually, the brothers found Reuben new assisted housing where he has a flat of his own and 91 hours of one-to-one care each week.

Manni said: "He's different, he's quieter but he feels safe and he feels happy. You're not afraid any more, are you?"

Reuben smiles and shakes his head.

"And that's more than I can ask for," said Manni.

The brothers have told their story in a book, brother. do. you. love. me., which is illustrated with Reubens drawings.

Manni, who now divides his time between Spain and Dorset, said: "I was so anxious about leaving Reubs here and that's when he drew me a bunch of flowers and that's how the book ends."

The words on the picture read: "For brother. Wherever you will go you will always be my brother. Emotional for you. Love you."

Manni said: "So then I knew he was going to be alright. There's very little that can't be solved with love."

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