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Going to a nursing home is scary enough considering the way my father was
cared for.  He had to wait for up to an hour to have someone who had time
come in to turn on his oxygen which he needed desperately.  I ended up
staying there a good share of the time.  The more I advocated for his many
needs the more resentful and inconvenient it became for the staff to do
anything for him., and I was polite . That is until the oxygen issue.  I
called the Department of Licensing in our state and was told to go to the
home and give a certain persons name from the agency  at licensing and if
they had any problems, they should phone them.  Dad was given his oxygen,
but I still had to be there all the time that I could be away from work and
home to see that he ate, was bathed and toileted.  I work in an institution
with vulnerable adults who are mentally ill and mentally retarded.  A lot of
the behaviors I see are those that many of the feelings that we as celiacs
have expressed, but they are expressing them in a very exaggerated manner,
which I will not go in to at this point.  The purpose of this contribution
is to let the list know that there are many institutions and group homes for
mentally challenged people who are feeding them the wrong diet,  I know
myself, for years I told the doctors I felt like I had toxic poisoning and
they thought I was in need of some type of therapy and mood altering
medication.  These folks can not speak for themselves either, and they are
also on medication that probably has gluten or other additives,  I work as a
social worker in one of the residential buildings and I know that our
dietary department puts every client on a high fiber diet, which will
probably help to kill some of them.  I have tried to share my knowledge of
Celiac disease with nurses, doctors psychologists, and dietitians, who
simply nod, and comment that "it is an interesting" comment.  So, there is a
percentage of folks in this area as well.
Jack and Connie O'Brien      Custom  Surveys on Demand
           Wild River Graphics and Data Management
Phone/Fax: 612-444-4913   e-mail: [log in to unmask]
           URL: http://www.winternet.com/~connie/