Consult specialist, friend’s family
Dear Dr. Gott: What can I do if I know of a situation where a “disabled” person is being victimized? I know a man whose wife just bought herself a car using his credit cards. She put the vehicle in her name. The man is “mentally” disabled from a heart attack. His wife just came into a huge inheritance a few years ago. It’s not a question of her not having money. She is a bank vice president. She has told people that her husband is “crazy,” and she went to his mother and tried to get his “senior citizen” mother to sign papers to have him institutionalized. I knew this man before his heart attacks, and he was a happy, successful person. I am wondering if his wife is doing something illegal and if the man has any legal rights?
Dear Reader: Before labeling a person “crazy,” concerned relatives must enlist help from medical professionals, especially psychiatrists. In your letter, which I have chosen to print in its entirety, there seems to be a valid concern about a person who has experienced some mental deterioration following a heart attack. Whether he is “incompetent” can best be judged by appropriate medical specialists.
In my view, this decision should not be stalled. If, in fact, the person you described is not incompetent, his wife could be charged with a felony. However, if his judgment is truly inadequate, the court will appoint a conservator to act in the patient’s best interests and make decisions about financial matters and health issues.
If I were you, I’d review the situation with the patient’s family in order to confirm that he is receiving appropriate legal rights.
Dear Dr. Gott: My mother was told, many years ago, that she should apply castor oil, rubbed in thoroughly twice a day, to her knee. Within days, her arthritic knee ceased bothering her. She died 12 years ago at the age of 91 but never had knee pain because of arthritis. I wonder if your readers might be interested in this novel therapy.
Dear Reader: Without a doubt.
Your letter was one of dozens I’ve received touting topical castor oil as an effective treatment for arthritic joints. Although these responses hardly qualify as a tidal wave – unlike the public’s success with Vicks VapoRub for nail fungus and the soap-under-the-sheet for leg cramps – the observation regarding castor oil has certainly attracted attention. I welcome comments, both pro and con, from other readers.