The TLC Story - Severe Dementia: A Guide for Caregivers of Loved Ones in the Severe Stage of Alzheimer's and Related Dementia Diseases

By Thomas J Connolly and Patrick J Connolly

The TLC Story - Severe Dementia

A Guide for Caregivers of Loved Ones in the Severe Stage of Alzheimer's and Related Dementia Diseases.

"TLC" is a common language abbreviation for Tender Loving Care. Giving TLC is the minimum that a loved one living with dementia needs and deserves.

This book

• Language: English
• Publisher: DEMENTIA CAREGIVING USING TLC
• Release date: May 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781734406450

Thomas J Connolly

Tom Connolly is happily retired. He had a dual working career as a manager in the telephone industry and as an officer in the naval reserve. At Notre Dame, he earned a BA and a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. From Rollins College, he earned a Master's degree in Management. Both his corporate and military training and experience is extensive. He is an octogenarian with a passion for his life-long learning.He provided "Tender Loving Care" to his wife of 51 years during the years she lived with dementia diseases. During a decade of that period Tom performed extensive research into the subject of how to provide TLC to Laura and also how both could live life to its fullest. He was successful and shares this knowledge with previous, current and future caregivers in his series of three books about mild, moderate and severe dementia.

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Copyright © 2022 Thomas J. Connolly

Title: The TLC Story – Severe Dementia

Subtitle: A Guide for Caregivers of Loved Ones in the Severe Stage of Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia Diseases

Author: Connolly, Tom

Author website: www.tlc4dementia.com

Published in 2022 by: Dementia Caregiving Using TLC.

First edition dated 2022. Printed on Demand and bound in the United States.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022907016

International Standard Book Numbers:

Paperback book: ISBN: 978-1-7344064-4-3

Digital/electronic book ISBN: 978-1-7344064-5-0

Author-generated Library of Congress Catalog Information and Numbers:

Senile dementia – Patients – Home care. RC521 .C67 2022

Dewey Decimal Number 616.83 .C67 – dc23 (Dementia – Patients – Care)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher; except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact author website.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to you, the previous, current, or future caregiver. My purpose is to help you become proficient in providing Tender Loving Care to your loved one living with a neurodegenerative disorder.

Acknowledgments

I have focused this book on the severe stage of dementia. The text provides specific and helpful information to people caring for a loved one during the severe stage.

I want to thank all the people who have helped and supported me during my caregiving journey. With help from many people, hands-on learning, and many written sources, I eventually became proficient in providing Laura with Tender Loving Care. It is the absolute minimum a loved one living with a neurodegenerative illness needs and deserves. My efforts produced this book which has one purpose: To help you become a proficient caregiver for your loved one.

My brother, Patrick J. Connolly, edited this book. As a retired college professor, he knew how to inspire me to write at a higher proficiency level. His primary developmental direction included an emphasis to explain my message using more stories and fewer lists. He succeeded only in part because I believe listing information simplifies complexity and enhances learning. Pat’s insightful comments helped me produce a better book.

Different internet-based editing programs helped improve my writing. The ones I used included AutoCrit, Grammarly, and ProWritingAid. All three enhanced my writing skills by providing coaching, technical advice, and common-sense recommendations.

The EbookPbook Company completed the book cover design and interior text formatting. The Jason and Vidya team performed superbly and have my highest recommendation.

I wrote the book using the Microsoft Word program. I have made it available to readers by using the print on demand features of the Amazon-Kindle and IngramSpark publishing platforms.

Laura’s dementia was a life-changing event for both of us. Dealing with the challenges of this disease is difficult to imagine. After reading this book, you will gain an intimate knowledge of our experience and the know-how to proceed if thrust into this situation.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge each of the world’s 100+ million dementia caregivers for their efforts. I hope each caregiver can provide Tender Loving Care to their loved one and benefit from reading this book. Thank you for what you do.

Limitation of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty Information:

This publication’s information and advice is related to improving the home health care of a loved one living with dementia. I do not intend it as medical advice or as a substitute for medical advice or counseling by physicians, experts, or professionals in this area. A caregiver should evaluate this information and consider it a supplement to a physician or another trained health professional’s guidance and care. Experts agree there is no cure for dementia diseases, nor is there a treatment to slow the progression of these eventually fatal diseases. No one has all the answers, especially the author of this work. The advice and recommendations in this work may not be suitable for a specific individual’s situation. I do not intend the information I provide in this publication to substitute for expert medical advice and treatment. I am offering it to help caregivers make informed choices because each individual’s care needs are unique. The author encourages caregivers to seek medical expertise from physicians and other qualified health care practitioners in all matters requiring medical attention. The physician or medical practitioner may then develop an optimum individual treatment plan for the patient.

While the author has used his best efforts in preparing this work, the author makes no representations or warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the information presented. The author encourages all readers to consult with medical professionals.

The reader may find that some content in this work is contrary to information, advice, or guidance provided by a physician or other qualified health care practitioner. In that case, the caregiver should follow the medical professional’s advice and guidance.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Part One: Introduction to Severe Dementia

Chapter 1 Killing the Hateful Man

Chapter 2 Surviving the Emergency Room

Chapter 3 Surviving the Hospital

Chapter 4 Finally, a Diagnosis

Chapter 5 Being Discharged AMA

Chapter 6 Banishing the Hateful Man

Chapter 7 Practical Skills Deteriorate

Chapter 8 Communication Skills Deteriorate

Chapter 9 Cognitive Skills Deteriorate

Chapter 10 Physical Skills Deteriorate

Chapter 11 Walking

Chapter 12 Climbing Stairs and Using Escalators

Chapter 13 Toileting

Chapter 14 Bathing

Chapter 15 Dressing

Chapter 16 Eating and Drinking

Chapter 17 Teeth and Gum Care

Chapter 18 Grooming and Personal Care

Chapter 19 Personal Hygiene

Chapter 20 Managing Medications

Part Two: Challenging Behaviors

Chapter 21 The Hostile Mirror Sign Reaches an Apex

Chapter 22 Sundowners and Sun-risers

Chapter 23 Sleep Disturbances and the Ugly Transition to Night Terrors

Chapter 24 Social Isolation

Chapter 25 Wandering

Chapter 26 Marital Relationship Changes

Chapter 27 Annoyance

Chapter 28 Aggravation

Chapter 29 Agitation

Chapter 30 Anxiety

Chapter 31 Accusing

Chapter 32 Arguing

Chapter 33 Anger

Chapter 34 Verbal Aggression

Chapter 35 Physical Aggression

Chapter 36 Depression and Dysphoria

Chapter 37 Severe Confusion

Chapter 38 Dangerous Delirium

Chapter 39 Severe Delusions

Chapter 40 Severe Hallucinations

Part Three: Bedridden

Chapter 41 Resistance to Care when Bedbound

Chapter 42 Barbara, the Angel in Disguise

Chapter 43 Transferring

Chapter 44 Toileting and Incontinence

Chapter 45 Bathing when Bedbound

Chapter 46 Contracture Prevention

Chapter 47 Bedsore Prevention

Chapter 48 Self-Injurious Behavior

Chapter 49 Pain Recognition and Reduction

Chapter 50 Verbal Aggression toward Visitors

Chapter 51 Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA)

Chapter 52 Eating and Drinking

Chapter 53 Palliative Care at Home

Chapter 54 Moments of Lucidity

Chapter 55 Hospice Care at Home

Chapter 56 Caregiver Guilt

Chapter 57 Caregiver Anticipatory Grief

Chapter 58 Laura’s Painful Last Week at Home

Chapter 59 Laura’s Pain-Free Week at the Hospice Facility

Chapter 60 Laura’s Last Day of Life at the Hospice Facility

Prologue

TLC is a common language abbreviation for Tender Loving Care. It is also the monogram used by Laura to personalize our guest bedroom pillows. It is our initials, Tom and Laura Connolly. The TLC Story is both the title and the theme for my series of books on dementia. My books tell the story of how the love we had for each other was strengthened and enhanced by the dreaded diseases called dementia. Using the plural diseases was not a mistake. Laura had Alzheimer’s disease dementia, vascular disease dementia, and Lewy Body disease dementia. Her diagnosis was mixed dementia.

There is a difference between suffering from dementia, fighting dementia, and living with dementia. To explain how to properly care for a loved one living with dementia, I have written a series of three books that address mild, moderate, and severe dementia. Each stage lasted for several years, and I found it impossible to describe tender loving care for all three stages in one book. Using each of these books, caregivers can focus on the dementia stage and behaviors their loved one is currently experiencing. Each book provides a complete understanding of how to help someone during that stage of dementia. New caregivers and family members may gain a wealth of knowledge from my experiences.

When did the TLC story start? How long was each stage? When did the TLC story end?

I do not know exactly when Laura’s mild cognitive impairment started, but I have some reasonable suspicions. Medical authorities agree that the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment start long before Alzheimer’s disease reaches the severe stage.

Mild Dementia

The mild dementia book details what happened to us during the mild stage of dementia which lasted about ten years, from Laura’s mid-50s to her mid-60s. Laura experienced behavior that was typical of a person entering mild cognitive impairment. Not everyone who has mild cognitive impairment transitions to mild dementia. Some people stabilize in that stage. We lived a normal life during the mild dementia phase.

The mild dementia book dispels common myths about dementia, tells what symptoms are NOT dementia, and what exactly is dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other types of dementia diseases. It covers the plethora of cognitive, physical, emotional, and behavioral early warning signs and symptoms. I believe most readers can use this information to fairly accurately diagnose someone with a mild cognitive neurodegenerative disease.

Laura had a clear understanding of dementia because her mother, some siblings, and many friends were impacted by the diseases. She chose to avoid a formal dementia diagnosis. Laura also retained the right to exercise personal privacy about her early symptoms. She also used the psychological crutch of denial to avoid thinking about or discussing her beginning cognitive decline. I supported her decisions because nothing can be done to cure or improve dementia. The mild dementia book covers the importance of advance planning relating to both financial and health care power of attorney documents, along with end-of-life decisions.

Most of the mild stage symptoms also appeared in the moderate stage, but with greater intensity.

Moderate Dementia

The moderate dementia book details our experiences during the moderate stage which lasted nearly ten years, from Laura’s mid-60s to mid-70s. This book covers the aspects of speaking without being understood, and conversing without communicating. It explains how Laura’s recent and short-term memory eventually vanished, and her life-long memory slowly deteriorated. It explains the extreme hazard that driving a vehicle presents. It covers how visual impairment increases falling, and how personality changes prompt social isolation. The book introduces Laura’s sleep disturbance issues, the mirror sign, and the initial misidentification of family and friends. Our life was impacted by dementia, but overall, we had a comfortable life.

Many of the mild and moderate stage symptoms also occurred in the severe stage, but were more severe.

Severe Dementia

The severe dementia book covers our experiences during the severe stage which lasted about five years, from Laura’s mid-70s until she passed away at age 79 and one-half. Yes, she lived with dementia for about a quarter-century in total. This was about half our 51-year married life.

The story of our tremendous affection for each other is revealed in this book. Unfortunately, her cognitive neurodegeneration caused Laura to become combative and attempt to kill me, her husband and caregiver. I was misidentified as a hateful man because of her delusions and hallucinations. That hateful man deserves it, according to Laura. She justified her position because she believed she witnessed horrendous behavior by the hateful man. I accepted Laura’s false reality and returned her verbal and physical aggression with love, care, and compassion.

The book explains that even during the beginning of severe dementia, significant help from a family caregiver is needed. Laura needed help to accomplish the basic activities of daily living. She could no longer live alone, needed to be accompanied constantly, and required full-time care. I became a full-time caregiver for Laura and essentially my life was focused on caregiving. This information is covered in Part One of the book (chapters 1-20).

During the middle phase of severe dementia, Laura’s loss of basic skills prompted challenging behaviors such as anger, agitation, and aggression. Delusions and hallucinations compounded these adverse behaviors. Laura was often unaware of her surroundings, could not recall recent events, was resistant to care, and had skewed memories of her past. This part of severe dementia is the most challenging period for the primary caregiver and is covered in Part Two of the book (chapters 21-40).

The last part of severe dementia includes a tendency for the loved one to fall and become severely injured. This results in the person becoming bedbound, which requires more care than a sole caregiver can accomplish. The family caregiver needs the help of either a full-time home health aide or a team of part-time health aide specialists. Caregivers must help the person with all activities of daily living. In the final phase, home care that begins with palliative care transitions to full hospice care. Laura lived at our home until our pain control efforts became ineffective. She lived comfortably and pain-free in a hospice facility during the last week of her life. This information is covered in Part Three of the book (chapters 41-60).

Caregiving Someone Living with Dementia

My books will NOT advise you on medications, specific alternative treatment plans, nursing homes, or specialized geriatric or dementia practitioners to consult. Laura and I have had many experiences, some good, some bad, some beautiful, and some ugly. We are sharing the naked truth about dementia to help you know how to better deal with it using tender loving caregiving.

The focus of my books is to help family members care for their loved one living with dementia. It will significantly improve a family member’s understanding and knowledge level of dementia as well as providing valuable and practical caregiving tips and recommendations. By gaining coping skills, family members will be able to minimize the negative aspects of caregiving, while maximizing the positive. The nuggets of wisdom I gained during the severe stage are vital to reliable caregiving. When family members learn this information, everyone benefits.

Some Background Information

More than six million people in the United States live with Alzheimer’s or other related dementias, and over 50 million worldwide.

By age 65, almost ten percent of seniors suffer from some form of dementia. The oldest-old (age 85 plus) suffer a 30 percent rate. Most people in the severe phase of dementia cannot expect many additional years of life. [1]

The lives of a people with a cognitive neurodegenerative disease are affected by a loss of abilities and control. Their memory, thought, and language disappears, as well as their independence, personal identity, competency, and relationships. These multiple losses lead to the emergence of challenging behaviors. Sadly, people caring for individuals with dementia face a higher risk of depression. Therefore, the caregiver must take constructive actions to increase beneficial thoughts, emotions, and attitudes.

Tender Loving Care Worked for Us and May Work for You

Many people with this illness can live in a home environment with the support of a close family member. I believe Laura had a much better quality of life living at home than she would have experienced in a memory care wing of a nursing home.

This book is focused on providing proper care during the severe phase. The plethora of advanced stage behaviors and issues is unveiled. A powerhouse of helpful guidance, advice, tips, and recommendations are included. Each type of challenging behavior Laura exhibited is introduced, supporting details are provided, and best practices are covered. Each segment is accompanied by several pertinent quotations appealing to the caregiver to think affirmative thoughts.

The TLC Story emphasizes and focuses on overcoming challenging behaviors. The book includes Laura’s experiences, background material, and details of proper caregiving. Each person in the severe phase of dementia may experience many of Laura’s problems. Explaining how to address them is my purpose. Armed with practical guidance, caregivers become more effective, and the quality of life for everyone improves. Becoming enlightened, empowered, and filled with hope is the fundamental objective when caring for an individual living with brain degeneration.

A Positive Mindset

We take our senses for granted as our brain employs them automatically to help us function. The reflex responses of our bodies occur because of our autonomic nervous system. It is one of the most incredible parts of the human body. This system receives information from the nearby world and sends messages to the muscles, allowing a person to survive. In addition, it controls all vital functions. It is a component of the peripheral nervous system that includes regulating involuntary bodily processes, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and sexual arousal. In short, it keeps each of us alive.

The autonomic nervous system contains three anatomically distinct divisions: sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric. The brain controls each. For example, the enteric nervous system is an extensive, web-like structure that contains over 100 million neurons and is chiefly responsible for regulating digestive processes.

Because the brain is linked to the autonomic nervous system, a person may control some bodily functions through conscious thought, especially with some practice. For example, highly trained people may intentionally slow their heart rate through meditative practices. For most of us, simply focusing on relaxing when a fast pulse or a feeling of anxiety occurs can bring the nervous system back into control. Taking a deep breath while relaxing also augments a person’s efforts to focus on positive thoughts.

Since only one thought can be focused on at any one time, driving undesirable thoughts from the caregiver’s mind is paramount. Reviewing constructive and pertinent reflections to replace destructive thoughts and ideas provides enormous benefits.

Positive Affirmations and Thinking Positive Thoughts

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. – Mahatma Gandhi

Good works are links that form a chain of love. – Mother Teresa

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius

Caregiving is not for sissies. Caregiving issues were moderated using Tender Loving Care (TLC) methods which worked for us. I feel certain they will work for you. – Tom Connolly

There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver. – Rosalyn Carter

End Note

[1] Alzheimer’s Association 2021 Summary Pamphlet FY22-PAM

Part One

Introduction to Severe Dementia

My stories about caring for Laura are fascinating at times and sad at other times. Yet, they provide a complete understanding of how to help someone during these challenging years. Caregivers should gain a wealth of knowledge on this subject by learning about my experiences. Part One addresses the initial phase of severe dementia in the following 20 chapters (1 to 20). This part makes it clear that when a person enters the severe stage, they can no longer live alone.

What Happened to Laura

I clearly remember Laura as energetic, highly social, passionate about relationships with family and friends, and fun to be around. But after the dementia diseases ravaged her mind, she became less and less capable of doing things for herself. She could not follow the simplest of directions. This resulted in frustrations for both of us.

Laura experienced significant deterioration involving everyday tasks during the severe stage of dementia. Some medical terms used to describe these routine tasks include incremental, independent, and instrumental. Medical personnel prefer the phrase Incremental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) to label these practical, cognitive, and physical skills that are lost. The IADLs are the everyday skills we learn over our life-times. Almost every common but valuable task and chore became beyond Laura’s capabilities. Laura could no longer tie her shoes, button her clothes, handle money, or do arithmetic. The broad categories of these IADLs included:

Loss of practical skills

Loss of communicational skills

Loss of cognitive skills

Loss of physical skills

People with dementia also have gradual deterioration of their lifelong abilities to perform the daily but basic activities of daily living. Medical personnel use the phrase Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) to describe these daily living needs, which are more critical than the IADLs because they require one-on-one caregiver support and assistance.

Laura’s ADLs requiring assistance included:

Being unable to walk or move around without help

Refusing to use stairs and escalators due to fear of being injured

Needing help when using the toilet

Refusing to bathe and requiring help when bathing

Needing help to dress

Requiring support to eat and drink

Needing assistance to brush her teeth

Needing an assist to groom herself

Requiring help to accomplish personal hygiene

Needing supervision on all aspects of taking medications

Laura lived with the everyday challenges of severe dementia involving her loss of independent living abilities, both IADLs and ADLs.

Some Background Information

In severe dementia the person loses the ability to properly perform most simple activities. People having Alzheimer’s and related dementia diseases experience progressive brain deterioration. The illness makes it more difficult for them to accomplish everyday tasks. The more complex basic activities of daily living are totally beyond the person’s scope. It is very disheartening for both the individual living with dementia and the caregiver.

No caregiver ever attested that caring for their loved one living with dementia was easy. Actually, it’s difficult from every human viewpoint. In addition, the challenging behaviors presented by the person increase in intensity and occasionally become overwhelming.

The outcome of the deterioration of a person’s IADLs and ADLs includes the gradual increase of that person’s challenging behavioral symptoms. The associated frustration caused by a person’s loss of independence becomes magnified as the deterioration advances.

Tender Loving Care that Worked for Us May Work for You

I understood Laura needed help and accepted that sometimes she became demanding, uncooperative, and resistant. Her occasional negative behavior occurred because she felt out of control, overwhelmed, rushed, afraid, and confused. However, she showed positive behavior when she had success while performing an activity.

I helped Laura by breaking each task into steps while using a reassuring, calm voice to address each step. Finally, I searched for ways to help her become more independent but within the limit of her abilities.

I found ways to connect with Laura, other than through conversation. I used body language such as a smile, a gentle touch, and my presence. Some of my best memories involved times when she was happy.

Each caregiver must ensure they care for themselves as well. It is important to give time, effort, and skills as willing sacrifices. But being an effective caregiver is a balancing act, meeting both the needs of the loved one as well as your own needs.

No caregiver is born knowing how to be effective. It is important to learn and keep learning. I hope my books provide the necessary knowledge that a caregiver must acquire.

Positive Affirmations and Thinking Positive Thoughts

It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing. – Mother Teresa

There is a time for work, and a time for love. That leaves no other time. – Coco Chanel

Family is not an important thing. It’s everything. – Michael J. Fox

Chapter 1

Killing the Hateful Man

During the severe phase of dementia, several challenging behaviors surface. The worst one I faced involved Laura’s attempts to kill me. Laura’s hallucinations reached a zenith in which she sometimes misidentified me as the worst person in the world. Visualize me standing in a police lineup with Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Judas. In Laura’s eyes, I stand out as the foulest one, the pack leader, and the wickedest person in the world. A rat who deserves extermination.

The most important danger to both the loved one being cared for, and for the caregiver, is clearly the potential for the caregiver to become overwhelmed. Nothing good happens when the caregiver becomes overwhelmed.

What Happened to Laura

Laura had hallucinations, delusions, and a severe misidentification syndrome. This resulted in Laura believing I was one of three separate and distinct individuals, but only one at a time was physically present with her. The first one was Laura’s husband, Tom. The second was Laura’s male caregiver, that old man, and lastly was Laura’s feared nemesis, the hateful man.

The men resemble each other, making Laura assume all three men may be brothers. Laura observed all three wore her husband’s clothes. All three claimed to be her husband but she was certain two of them were imposters.

If I told Laura, I am Tom, your husband, and at that moment, she believed I was one of the other two men; she thought I was an imposter and trying to trick her. When Laura suspected trickery, she felt disrespected. This caused agitation, anger, and aggression to surface and she became combative.

Laura loves Tom the husband. He is the faithful husband who loves her. Laura imagined he was on a ship at sea on a long voyage (I was active in the Navy for five years and the Naval Reserve for two decades}. He sends money to the bank and has all the bills paid automatically. Tom is a reliable provider and keeps everything simple. Thankfully, he is always home for the holidays. She loves him, misses him, and wishes Tom would spend more time with her. If he lived in her home, Laura was confident he would handle the problems caused by the hateful man.

That old man who lives with Laura is a good worker. He does all the house maintenance, cooks, cleans, does the laundry, provides security, and drives her places. Laura thinks Tom the husband arranged for that old man to live with her while Tom the husband is away on his voyage. Since that old man is a hard worker, Laura does not charge him rent to live with her, nor does she charge him for meals. He essentially gets free room and board. Laura thinks this is a fair exchange for his work. That old man sometimes claims he is Tom the husband, but he cannot trick her about who is who.

This condition caused Laura to suffer confusion and aggravation. In addition, her hallucinations made caregiving and social experiences become anxiety-producing and confusing.

Sometimes the hateful man changes places with the old man. Laura does not trust him, thinks he is terrible, and worries he may steal her money. He doesn’t stay at her home often, but causes problems when he is present. Sometimes she can smell whiskey on his breath in the evenings. He is the most horrible person in the world. She would do anything to have him out of her life, but instead, he makes her life a living hell.

The bastard invites all kinds of evil women into her home. They are whores, prostitutes, bitches, tramps, and tarts. These are the actual words she uses to describe them. Laura’s vocabulary is still expressive. The evil women and the man who looks like her husband have wild drunken parties. Laura believes this is happening because she has witnessed it frequently.

Laura has witnessed these fast women steal and wear her bras, clothes, handbags, and jewelry. They constantly make a nuisance of themselves. She has watched them use her toothbrush, cosmetics, and other personal items, making a mess of her things. They poop and pee on the floor anywhere in the house whenever they have the urge. Sometimes they use her toilet, but when they do, they leave feces all over the seat. She has found her toilet seat in a filthy condition. These women are nasty. Laura hates them and hates that hateful man for bringing them into her home.

When she became assertive and complained to the hateful man about the horrible parties, he was cruel, struck her, and knocked her to the floor. She firmly believed the hateful man physically abused her. Hallucinations are powerful experiences.

Laura decided to kill the disgusting man. She believes he deserves to be killed because of his vile and horrible behavior! Since there was no other alternative, she decided it was up to her to kill him. Laura was confident her life would be much better after he was dead.

Yes, Laura was intent on murdering me. She made repeated attempts, mostly at night or in the mornings, just after Laura woke up. Her murderous attempts included hitting, kicking, and pushing me. Fortunately, I was a 180-pound man, and Laura was a petite 120-pound woman. Therefore, Laura could not hurt me.

Laura feels her life is like a scene from hell. She doesn’t want any of those people in her home, but she is not strong enough to throw them out on her own. She is frustrated by her helplessness.

Laura hopes her husband Tom returns soon and drives off the detestable people.

Some Background Information

What prompted Laura’s detailed and horrible hallucinations at night during her sleep? Here’s one of my speculations. We made many trips to Europe after I retired and visited many art galleries and art museums. I believe Laura remembered many oil paintings showing horrible scenes of cities being pillaged by the victors of brutal warfare. Rape, robbery, and the killing of women and children were common themes of European art.

The sufferings, passion, and agony of Jesus were imagined and documented by many creative artists.

Many artists have amply documented horrible scenes of