After the church service yesterday, when I went to shake hands with the Temp, he asked me if anyone associated with the benevolence organization had contacted me. They hadn't, so the Temp told me what happened during the Council meeting on Wednesday night. He brought up Mr. Leeny's dental problem. A letter is going to be sent to the members of the congregation explaining the need, telling them that the church is raising funds to meet it, and letting them know that the benevolence organization is involved. He ended by smiling and telling me that "they're on it."
Mr. Leeny is doing much better since starting on his antibiotics. He got up and did a frenzy of housework over the weekend, and even went with me and his aunt to the church's Thanksgiving dinner and worship service last night.
I have been seriously considering encouraging Mr. Leeny to get a job to pay for his own dentures. Right now, he can say that the problems he's having from his bad teeth make him feel too bad to look for work or go to a job, but that won't be the case after the teeth are gone. I think that janitorial work would be the best fit for him. He's very good at cleaning and organizing; he would not have to meet the public; he could work evenings and nights, which is when he tends to be most alert; and his age would not count against him--seniors are often hired for positions like this. He was never required to work, or even to contribute any of his Social Security income to his own support, when he lived with his parents, so the idea of providing for himself is totally novel. Knowing that if he wants dentures he's going to have to work for them, though, may be just the thing to get him moving.
I've got another stupid thing happening to me medically. It's probably something called cubital tunnel syndrome (I think), which is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome but happens up in the elbow and affects a different nerve. I have an appointment on Dec. 3 to have a test done for an exact diagnosis. The treatment is similar to that for carpal tunnel, only it's done to the elbow instead of to the wrist.
I want to tell you that your concern about me means very much to me. I don't mean to scare anyone with my references to suicide. I know this may be difficult to understand, but in my family suicide and self-injurious behavior were not that big a deal, so I don't realize how upsetting it can be to others. My brother, for instance, used to cut his arms with knives when he was an adolescent. The only thing that ever happened because of it was that my mother (who was still sick at the time) would scream at him for getting blood on the floor, jab at his injuries with a wet Kleenex, and stick some band-aids on them. She, herself, during psychotic breaks, swallowed overdoses of pills on several occasions. My father (who was also still sick at the time) never reacted except to call an ambulance when my mother ODed. Just as children who witness violence between their parents can grow up thinking it's "normal" and continue it in their own marriages, I suppose I've absorbed the idea that it's OK to hurt yourself. At 51 years old, I really don't know how to change that perception. Receiving the loving concern of TDKers, however, makes me want to live.
