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Old 09-02-2018, 10:21 PM
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elm_creek_smith elm_creek_smith is offline
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Default Health issues and self-defense

My wife is on a liver transplant list and a few months ago underwent a "TIPS" procedure where a shunt is placed in the liver between the portal vein and the hepatic vein. This procedure reduces fluid buildup in the abdomen which makes her more comfortable. The downside is that it allows her blood ammonia level to increase which can lead to hepatic encephalopathy, basically behaving in an irrational manner, inability to remember important information, and believing that no one else is behaving normally.

Lactulose is a medication that binds the free ammonia in the digestive tract and allows its elimination and must be taken as prescribed (3 times a day) to be effective. If the patient takes the medication, there is no problem. If not,...

Twice since the procedure, I had to call 9-1-1 to get an ambulance to take my wife to the hospital because she refused to take her medication. (To be fair, she thought she WAS taking it in her "altered mental state.") Those hospitalizations were for four days to get her stabilized and restore her compos mentis. We almost had to hospitalize her again this last week but were able to catch her diminished mental state in time.

My recent third retirement now has me in the role of primary caregiver, ensuring that my wife takes her medications on time, every time. So, what does this have to do with self-defense?
It means I no longer have a partner in defending our home. After her last hospitalization, I took her revolver, unloaded it, and secured it. She's never left alone, and, if there is a threat, I, or my grown daughter, will have to deal with it. If my wife receives a new, one-owner liver, this issue should become moot. Until then, we are her line of defense.

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