touring ....

... across south Georgia on Wednesday. Down to Albany, skirting the city on the by-pass, then straight south almost to the Florida line to Thomasville, east across the state through Quitman to Valdosta. Then heading back north, veering off to the east to stop in Nashville, about thirty minutes north of Valdosta, before heading back towards home. Stopping in all those places briefly - but getting home well before dark. I am always surprised that sitting, tooling along with the radio on and cruise control set is so tiring. I guess having to be alert, focused, constantly aware while motoring is reason enough for the experience to be exhausting. But still surprising to get out of the car after driving six or seven hours, bone tired from sitting all that time.

Unexpectedly, I had the day- and the rest of the week - off from work. It gave me the opportunity to go to visit the Auntie, now that her life has caused mine to become considerably more complicated. I've been trying to get down to see her at least once a month. With ulterior motives: try to plan ahead to be the accompanying driver/interested party when she has various medical appointments. It does not always work out, and the facility where she lives will have to provide transport as well as a caregiver to go along for the ride. But a paid worker/caregiver accompanying means I really do not know what happens when she goes to the doctor, dentist, whoever she needs to see for health care.

A major complicating factor recently came in the form of a urinary tract infection. (Never thought I would be having a reveal about such a intimate subject and sharing this type of highly personal stuff with the voyeurs and complete strangers - but I never thought a lot of things that have come to pass in my life!)  An undiagnosed UTI can produce altered behavior, confusion, agitation, anxiety, anger in senior citizens, but it is really difficult to address until you assemble the pieces of the puzzle  evaluating profound changes in personality. The Auntie was acting strange: aggressive, agitated, belligerent, more confused than usual. Generally out of control, to the point that even staff members she really liked, seemed to be willing to cooperate with, could not get her to calm down.

Upon reaching the conclusion she was in need of different medications to help her manage her-own-self, regain control, the staff recommended the Auntie should be sent to a Senior Evaluation Center. Located in a nearby town, in a small hospital under the auspices of an area medical center, they specialize in helping families rescue loved ones from depression, erratic behavior, managing dementia-related problems. All along, my hope has been that the Auntie would be content, and could spend the rest of her days in that supportive, caring environment where she has been for a year.  My expressed goal for her was to be cooperative and tractable with the staff - just generally civilized and agreeable.

I drove down on Wed. to meet with the doctor (a psychiatric specialist) who is the director of the Dogwood Senior  Health Center, in a wing of that small town hospital. Actually only spent about fifteen minutes talking with the Dr. and staffers, to learn more about the Auntie's improved state and their proposed plans for the future. Hopefully the meds. she has been on for several days will be the solution. Though I do have to wonder if there are any markers that might predict her undoing when she is overwhelmed by the next UTI, according to the info. received, she seems to be much more content, cooperative, stable. The term I have heard used by health professionals when she gets out-of-sorts and is so uncooperative is that she is 'difficult to redirect'. Which is a kind, polite euphemism for 'mule-headed'. A perfect description of the Auntie when things are not to her liking. At her age, a person who has always been independent, self-determined and unyielding is not likely to change, but we can hope that the right Rx will moderate the worst of the obstinate behavior.