Beth

[sereneorange]

    My sister worked with this amazing dear sweet woman, Beth, for 10 years. Beth had to stop working 3 years ago because she has the most horrific debilitating RA I have ever seen. She has had 30 surgeries.
    Beth has become like a surrogate grandmother to Connor. They have a huge amount of respect and affection for each other. They just adore and love each other so much.
    Lately, Beth has become very paranoid. She is convinced that I have hacked into her computer. She also thinks people from the state agency she worked for hacked into her phone lines, her bank account, her amazon.com account, her credit card accounts.
    She called me last night at 9 pm (this is extremely odd since as long as my sister has known her, she has gone to bed at 7 or 8) to tell me that she loves Connor so much, but is very upset that my sister and I have pulled such a cruel prank and wants us to stop. She truly beleives that I have done these things. She says she knows what we are capable of and knows our sense of humor. She is living on SSI and has very little money, so when she told me that she donated her computer that she still has 9 months left to pay on to HCC because I have hacked into it and purchased an IMAC, I began to cry and tried to convince her that I haven't done anything to her. I would never do anything to hurt her.
    She says she thinks I hacked into the new one because she cannot get it to work. It is a different OS and she doesn't know anything about it. I couldn't convince her that I didn't do anything.
    She is in absolute hell. She is on a lot of pain medication. She really really beleives this. She is hurting and will not see my sister or I. We cannot comfort her. We know she is going to die soon. We have let Connor know. He lost his Aunt and Grandmother last year and want him to be prepared.

    She  called my sister's phone and left a crying voice mail to "Please stop." 

    She just called my phone. It said "unknown caller" on the ID. She had the operator call.  She asked why "it hasn't stopped?" and "Is what I am seeing really real?"
    It dawned on me earlier that this sounds an awful lot like Sundowning like Alzheimers patients get. She hasn't been diagnosed with that, but I am wondering if that is what it is, or if it is something else with her RA? I am not mad at her, and told Connor he can still go to the cat show with her ( she is not driving). We told him to not try to defend us to her, we are not mad, but she is upset and we just need him to love her and be there for her and to not be scared.
    I hate that she is in such hell. There is nothing I or my sister can do to make it better. Fini is going to call her brother tomorrow to tell him to go to her apt at night to see what is going on.

Comments

[mengus.livejournal.com]

I understand the frustration and fecklessness, my only brother is schizophrenic. When I think he is doing well, he always shatters my credulity with statements like what happened on Thursday: "Pete, it's come to my attention that you have not been taking your meds again."



"Patrick, you need to know that you will not be able to work for me if you have another episode."

"But Lin, it makes me impotent."

!

What the hell do you say to that?

Anyway, didn't want to make this about me, just wanted you to see that I wasn't just saying I understood.

[serene-orange.livejournal.com]

I understand. Con's paternal grandmother is schizophrenic. We lived with her for 3 years. When she didn't take her meds it was hard. I live in fear that Con will have it too.

[cattiva24.livejournal.com]

That's so sad. :( Maybe someone can get her to go and see a doctor or something.

its almost a natural occurance

[roshov.livejournal.com]

i thought my dad was sane, but after being in the nursing home and basicly going over the edge, heard what he wanted, or conjured up, convinced that we had already sold the house and were all moving away. Nothing we could do could change this, and we tried, it happens, alzheimers or not, now it's up to her body to keep her going or not.........unless she just happens to hang on, but it won't get any better.