When Someone Acts Completely Out Of Character!

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I find myself sitting here feeling happiness at discovering the world I used to come to ... to write, communicate with friends ... is still here! How could I forget? I really forgot. Life has a way of making us focus on living through each day to get to a point we call 'even keel'. The even keels in our life have taken so long to get to each time now. Skip has been ill since 2016. He has been through the mill, so to speak. So many medical issues ... more than one time ... I thought he wouldn't be here anymore. I couldn't let him go so easily, took good care of him ... he and Camie are my whole Life. (Camie is our Catahoula dog I rescued in 2013). Just in April this year (2022) ... Skip had to have a heart catheterization, stent put in ... he was taken to the operating room while in the hospital to have all his teeth removed in OR ... then, his heart valve was replaced (aortic). All in the span of 2 weeks. Why were all his teeth pulled? When one has an aortic valve (any heart valve) replaced ... a bad tooth can cause infection to go to one's heart ... not good. It can be fatal, also. You can research this if you have questions. He is 75 years old ... oh my, that much anesthesia in 2 weeks really affected him in a negative way, scary way! It took a month or so, for the anesthesia to fully leave him. One example ... on the way home from the hospital when he was discharged later in the week ... he thought he was seeing a huge brush fire! There wasn't anything there! I knew something wasn't right ... I knew to begin asking questions ... that wasn't like Skip at all! One more example ... I drove us to the mailbox ... I got out to get the mail, got back in ... Skip began asking 'why is that car parked there' ... I looked to where he was pointing ... there wasn't a car anywhere to be seen! I began researching how anesthesia affects older adults. I learned how it affects older people in a not so good way! Afterwards, they can see things, say strange things ... just completely disoriented. The sad thing is ... people put it off thinking the person is 'just old', that's how it's supposed to be. No, it is NOT! If you didn't know it before ... research anesthesia effects on the elderly ... you will see what it can do. I never had any idea before. Thank goodness, I am one who researches, looks for answers all the time. I am a naturally curious person. I don't look at something, just accept it at face value. I want to know more. I have learned not only the anesthesia can make elder people seem senile, have dementia ... guess what else can!? Water ... being dehydrated ... needing to drink water daily. Older people forget to drink water daily ... they become disoriented, seem senile ... have dementia. I know this for a fact as this happened to Skip some years ago. Not only that, it causes UTI (urinary tract infections). So, if your elderly loved one begins to act strangely ... begin making sure they are getting their proper water intake each day. You will see an amazing difference if they truly are dehydrated. You know how flowers come back to life when you water them ... the same with people ... especially your elderly loved ones! If it's dehydration ... you'll see a miracle when they begin to drink their water (I mean drink their water in the proper way ... ask a doctor how much ... you can't drown them in water!). The sad thing here is ... through time grandparents, uncles, aunts ... older adults ... have been put into nursing homes because their minds 'weren't right, their bodies seemed out of whack, disoriented'. I wonder often ... how many? All because they displayed signs of dementia, began to fall ... acted out of character. Just research anything I just mentioned as ... I'm not a doctor, nurse ... I used to work in a hospital ... it was in the office, and at the emergency room. My friends were doctors, nurses ... they knew how excited, happy I was to learn about everything ... they always wanted to show me things, share knowledge with me. I loved it. Look for the 'whys' when someone acts out of character ... talk to your doctor, research it to make you more aware. Knowledge is truly power, especially when it comes to your loved ones. Oh ... don't forget ... it can happen to younger people too!