I (Teresa) am now writing the newsletter for Peschel Press. Thanks for signing up!
You may have figured that out already, dear reader, since you’re receiving a second newsletter only two months after the last one (which I also wrote). I’ll be writing the newsletter on a bi-monthly basis since I probably won’t have something to say more than every two months.
But you never know.
[Bill here: First, I want to thank all of you who recently signed up. We really appreciate your interest in our books!
Unfortunately, we have nothing new to report on upcoming books. I’m still working on Volume 7 of the 223B Baker Street series, and a horror novella that’s taking longer than expected. We’ll have more information on them when we move closer to publication.
In the meantime, Teresa wants to share an important discovery she made during her father’s recent health crisis. If this seems odd to encounter in an author’s newsletter, well, you’re right! Our next newsletter will get back to our books, with occasional side journeys as we encounter them!]
I. A Non-Book Related Rant
I’ll start with a public service announcement that everyone with older relatives, and I do mean everyone, should know.
Urinary tract infections in the elderly, particularly if they are symptom-free, can mimic the symptoms of dementia!
Treat the UTI and the dementia goes away!
We did not know this. The majority of people we’ve spoken to since did not know this. We discovered this amazing, life-changing fact the hard way.
Here’s the story, a gripping tale of not recognizing a problem, not getting to the right doctor fast enough because of not recognizing what we saw, not being willing to admit there was a problem (on the part of my father), and medical malpractice.
My father is 84. He started showing signs of mild mental impairment about a year ago. He didn’t complain about anything. He’s from North Dakota originally and I don’t believe anyone from that milieu does, especially if it’s potentially embarrassing or shows you to be needy or weak.
My father also has type two diabetes, because of a strong genetic component. Several relatives developed it. He’s never, ever been overweight and is, via fastidious diet, exercise, and medical care, the very model of a model diabetes patient. All diabetes patients should be as obsessive about diet and blood sugar levels as my dad is. Moreover, my mother watches his eating like a hawk.
The diabetes doesn’t actually come into this story except that, being a model diabetes patient, my dad regularly sees his doctor.
That should mean something, yes? It turns out that it doesn’t.
My mother kept telling me and anyone who would listen that he was developing a bulging stomach while, at the same time, losing weight. She complained about his memory and cognitive lapses. She complained that he was having continence issues.
The doctor said ‘it’s old age. Get over it. Live with it.’
At no point did the doc actually put his hands on my dad’s abdomen. At no point did my dad say ‘I’m having serious trouble peeing’. At no point, when my mom said ‘adult diapers’ did I (or anyone else, dammit) say ‘visit the urologist’. It’s just old age.
Time passed and my dad got worse. Finally, my mother went with my dad to the doctor and made a huge fuss. Who listens to 80-year-old ladies anyway? This time, because she was there, someone listened.
As a result, my dad ended up in the urologist’s office and had FIVE LITERS OF URINE drained out of his bladder. It was almost completely non-functional and was the size of a basketball.
Should my dad have said something? You bet!
Should that damn doctor of his laid his hands on his abdomen at LEAST ONCE during all those visits? Damn straight he should have.
Anyways, much medical folderol ensued over the next few weeks including high drama in the ER and the intensive care unit. Thank God my nephew, a captain in the Delaware National Guard, showed up in the ER and insisted that his grandfather get some medical care. His command voice got results in a way that my 80-year-old mother could not. Always have a soldier along with you when you go to the ER. You’re less likely to be ignored.
My dad is doing much better now.
Here’s where we return to UTI’s mimicking dementia. Once my father had his bladder drained, he started thinking better. When his underlying, symptom-free UTI got treated (surprise! Not draining your bladder properly leads directly to a UTI!) his brain functions cleared up even more. He’s almost back to his old self mentally.
It was at that point in our medical odyssey that someone finally told us that oh, yeah, untreated UTI’s in the elderly (particularly if they are symptom-free) mimic dementia! They can also cause extreme behavior changes! What, you didn’t know?
Of course we didn’t know! None of us had ever heard of such a thing. And, every time my mother complained, she was told ‘old age so shut up’.
This has been an enormously frustrating experience all around. I sincerely hope that my father’s doctor goes to bed every night thinking ‘malpractice suit’ for ignoring the obvious changes in my dad’s body. He looked like he swallowed a basketball in his otherwise skinny body.
So here’s your valuable new takeaway: if you have an older relative showing signs of dementia or a personality change, it may not be dementia! It might very well be an untreated UTI. They can be completely symptom-free. No pain or burning at all. The only thing that shows is your brain slowing down. Treat the UTI and brain function comes back. UTI’s are easy to treat too.
The other takeaway is that old age doesn’t necessarily mean Depends. If your family member starts having signs of incontinence, don’t just buy the adult diapers. Visit the urologist! There may actually be an underlying, treatable medical condition. My father certainly had one and we could have saved ourselves untold aggravation and heaps of Medicare if I, or someone else, had said ‘visit the urologist and be sure’.
Feel free to forward this information on as you see fit. If we had only known. But I do now and so now, I am telling everyone.
My father’s medical journey has, as you might expect, really thrown off Peschel Press’s publishing schedule so I don’t have any new books to announce. We’re close, but we’re not there yet. If all goes well, I’ll make announcements in the May newsletter.
II. Upcoming Events
We do have a calendar of upcoming events where we’ll meet the public and sign and sell our books. If you’re in the area, feel free to stop by our booth to chat and eat butterscotch crunchie cookies (which I make myself). When we do shows, I hand out a cloth grocery bag (which I make myself from remnants) with each book purchase so you get a great piece of swag along with meeting us in person.
Here’s where we will be:
April 9, Sunday
Dauphin Co. Library author festival at the East Shore branch by Colonial Park Mall, Harrisburg
April 27, Saturday
Kiwanis Club Arts and Crafts show at Grace United Methodist Church in Hummelstown, PA https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=1526174087677824&story_fbid=1993857687576126
May 3-5, Friday-Sunday
Malice Domestic mystery convention in Bethesda, MD http://malicedomestic.org/
May 11, Saturday
Hershey ArtFest at the Cocoa Beanery in Hershey, PA http://hersheyartfest.org/
May 18, Saturday
Gaithersburg Book Festival, Gaithersburg, MD http://www.gaithersburgbookfestival.org/
June 7-8, Friday-Saturday
Scintillation of Scions Sherlock Holmes conference in Linthicum Heights, MD https://www.scintillation.org/
Aug. 10, Saturday
Murder As You Like It convention at the Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop in Mechanicsburg, PA https://www.mysterybooksonline.com/calendar
Oct. 5, Saturday
Autumn Festival and Old-fashioned Days at Indian Echo Caverns, Hummelstown, PA http://indianechocaverns.com/
Nov. 2, Saturday
34th annual Hershey Winter Arts and Crafts Show at Hershey High School, Hershey, PA https://www.facebook.com/events/530436904107283/ http://www.derrytownship.org/departments/parks-and-recreation
We plan on being at all the events listed above, but sometimes things happen such as exciting medical events or terrible weather so check with our website (https://peschelpress.com/ ) as the date nears. Plus, when we find out about new events, we’ll sign up and add them to our events calendar.
Thanks for reading and we hope to see you in person this year.
And remember: dementia isn’t always dementia. Sometimes it’s a urinary tract infection in disguise.