I’m not quite sure when Kate began to experience delusions and hallucinations. I do know I first mentioned it in a post almost exactly a year ago. She had experienced them periodically before then. Now they are commonplace.
Thursday afternoon after resting, she looked very concerned. I walked over to her recliner. I told her she looked worried. She nodded that she was. I asked if she could tell me about it. At first, she said she couldn’t. Then she started talking. She was worried about a young man that somebody wanted to kill. Our conversation lasted about ten minutes. As she talked, she mentioned the possibility of my helping the young man in some way. I assured her that I would. She was relieved. This is at least the third time she has mentioned something related to killing. Once she was worried because she thought someone wanted to kill her. Another time, she felt guilty because she had been aware of a killing sometime in the past and hadn’t told anyone.
That night after I joined her in bed she said she needed my help. This time she was talking about a young man who was very bright but didn’t have the resources to pay for college. She wanted my help in getting him some assistance. This is a theme that is similar to other delusions. As I have done before, I told her I would do everything I could to help.
Friday night, she had been trying with great effort to work her jigsaw puzzles. Her mind must have drifted off because she started talking about a couple who were considering divorce though she couldn’t think of the word. She wanted me to talk with either the man or the woman to see if I could help them. Again, she was all right when I agreed to help.
These experiences tend to occur after she has rested a while although not necessarily asleep. Not all of them are disturbing, but the ones that bother her stand out. On other occasions, she hallucinates. For example, at a restaurant the other night, she looked below the outer edge of my plate and smiled. Then she made a comment about a girl she thought was there. Occasionally, she looks up at the ceiling while she is resting and talks to someone she sees.
For the most part, Kate’s delusions don’t create a big problem. The exceptions are those that disturb her in some way. Fortunately, talking through the situation and my offering to help her seems to calm her.
