Rich's Mom in Need of Serious Attention
Good morning. We’d concentrated on some information we pulled together last night on behalf of Rich’s Mom. He came home frustrated with that situation. We argued about it in that he just wants to say “nothing can be done” and he gets angry for me to suggest things can and should be done. I want him to be keeping an open mind to responsibilities he should be taking. At one point he went in to make dinner and we stayed out to make a few calls … he said that we could give him the notes, so we wrote the following and emailed it to him.I guess there were problems in that his mother wanted him to take her to the pharmacy. I guess she got ready and made it out to the car. She said she was going to honk the horn until he took her. She didn’t go that far, but I guess they both stayed out in the car for about a half an hour before she returned to her place. I think one of Bud’s sons’ were there so Rich was handling his mother more on her own. I think she’s being very angry at him, so that’s not helping Rich, but is taking some pressure off of Bud. Bud isn’t sure how much more of this he can take.
Rich has got to be very proactive. I don’t think his mother can be much more responsible than she is, but Rich wants to hear only that she can change if she wants to. I think they both need to check into the reality of the situation. He’s got to calm down if he’s going to be any help to her, because she’s somewhat lost and confused. She needs someone steady to help her through it. It is the only way we’re going to find out the level of her problems and if that’s not being exasperated by the family.
January 5, 2009
Dear Rich,
This is the written information you said you would look at. Please read. Also you should remember that you don't have to have all the conditions to be considered for illness.
I understand that they are looking for medical conditions in her brain. This is really good, but needs to be followed up. I don't believe that your mother or Bud is correctly transferring information about her condition. The sessions should be taped, a request could be made to get the doctor's written assessment, or you should be present.
Also, you and/or Bud should be writing a formal dated list of the things that are happening to her that can be presented to the hospital - either regular doctor or ER. This is a very strong way in which you could be actively caring.
Ann
There are two detoxification units in Aurora. They are:
Provina Mercy (630) 801-2657
Lyndon Oaks Hospital @ Edwards Hospital (630) 355-0450
They both stated that she should be taken to an Emergency Room for an assessment. They will do assessments for alcohol and mental health. If there was a problem with being mentally ill, you could get a petition to the court to have her kept. If she were suicidal, homicidal or if she had a dementia diagnosis they could keep her to do a medical diagnosis. Lyndon Oaks stated that she had to be medically cleared before they could accept her for treatment. Lyndon Oaks stated that they had a chemical dependence unit and a geriatric unit and that she’d probably qualify for the geriatric. He said that detoxification usually lasts for 3-4 days and then there would be outpatient services. If the situation were chemical (just alcohol) she would have to admit herself and she could leave whenever, but it would be different if there was dementia or mental illness.
I looked up dementia and found several things of interest. It is defined as:
Dementia – A basic term for “loss of memory” and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily living caused by physical changes in the brain.
Some of the symptoms are:
Problems with judgment such as: problems making decisions, problems with keeping finances and problems with thinking clearly.
Less interest in hobbies/activities
Repeats things over and over (questions, stories and statements)
Trouble learning to use tools
Forgets date
Trouble making appointments
Daily problems (thinking or memory)
Progressive cognitive decline combined with
Pronounced fluctuation in alertness or attention
Visual hallucinations
Rigidity or loss of spontaneous movement
Depression
Mood swings
Irritability
Socially inappropriate (impulsive or emotionally blunted)
Lack of concentration
Difficulty feeding self
One particular concern is a dementia called Wernicke-Karsakoff syndrome which is a brain disorder due to thiamine deficiency. This which includes damage to nerves and nervous system and the symptoms are caused by alcohol withdrawal attributed to malnutrition, especially vitamin B1 which is common in alcoholics. Heavy alcoholism interferes with the breakdown of Thiamine.
posted by Ann Marie @ 1/05/2009 05:39:00 AM
Comments: 0
