Look but Don't Choke

Chapter 16

The next day in my office I sat with a nervous bubbling in my stomach as I palmed the business card I'd put back together with scotch tape and a whole lot of effort. The pieces had littered Dolores Collins porch at one point, torn to shreds by a woman whose mental state grew more and more erratic. The card had been given to her by a chubby guy dressed in casual business wear.

The name on the card: Arnold Gibson. Psychiatric Social Worker.

I took a deep, slow breath. This was about to be a hell of a lie.

I dialed the number and waited, my breath catching with each ring until the line finally connected and I heard him greet me with a surprised, "Hello?"

"Hi, my name is Amelia Thomas. Um, I'm calling because someone gave me your number and said you could give me some information about how to go about getting my grandmother psychiatric help. She's been acting odd lately, and I'm not sure how to help her."

"Uh, Yes." I recognized his voice. It was the same man who had stood outside of Mrs. Collins porch and begged her to get back on her medication. "You said you wanted to get help for your grandmother? To schedule an appointment with one of the doctors she'll have to go through her insurance company. Now, we accept Medicare and Medicaid here."

"She doesn't have insurance," I said. "She's never trusted doctors. It wasn't a problem until this last year when she started acting strangely."

"How so?"

"Well...she's less alert than she used to be. Sometimes it's like she zones out and forgets I'm even talking to her."

"She might just be getting too old."

"She only in her sixties."

"Sounds like a psych evaluation is in order."

"Yes, I was hoping you'd say that," I paused for dramatic effect. "I was wondering if you could give me some ideas of what she may have?"

"That depends on the symptoms."

"Well she's forgetful-like I said. And she's got these peculiar habits. Like, the inside of her house is spotless, but the outside is a mess. She has this old car that hasn't moved in decades. But oddest of all is how religious she is."

"Religious?"

"Yes, she does nothing all day but pray and condemns people to hell. She's become an extremist!"

"Miss Thomas-"

"Misses. Thomas is my married name."

"Misses Thomas, your grandmother's religiosity isn't necessarily the cause of her behavior. Sometimes certain mental illnesses exaggerate ordinary traits, especially if this behavior is new. Other times certain environmental factors can trigger unusual behavior-things like social changes or stress. Often times these things can be managed with medication therapy and regular check-ups."

"The thing is she's not that great with taking her medicine."

"Mm hmm. A lot of patients have that sort of problem. We have staff here who can help her with a regimen if that's what she needs," I could sense he was getting impatient with the conversation.

"I just--I just wish I knew if this was her new church doing this to her or what kind of mental illness it could possibly be." I paused again, letting my voice getting weepy. "The other day she forgot she had a daughter! And then the day after she remembered again. I'm not sure what to do."