Reply #265: Not really any support

[catrose]

She was living with a man who wasn't a lot more competent. When I finally convinced him to go to a doctor--he'd spent a lot of time wading through the New Orleans sludge to evacuate his neighborhood by boat and obviously had infections--he felt so good after taking one antibiotic pill that he started taking them every few hours, like aspirin. Of course he'd been told differently; the bottle said differently.

I located her birth family for her; she thought she'd lost them all. At first they were thrilled to be reunited...then they settled back into their lifelong pattern of Gloria as hot potato. No one could manage, help, or stand her for very long. We were trying to get her on SSI disability, which would have provided money anyway, but money went through her fingers like water. I don't know if that ever happened; she decided it was a plot to lock her up in a mental institution.

I begged other social service agencies for help, but there's no agency that takes care of adults that can't take care of themselves, not if they're sorta kinda functioning. And everyone was swamped from Katrina survivors.

I wanted to make things better so badly. Just. not. happening.