So just when you thought you heard it all.

MIL has been ill for two years.  But has rebounded considerably in last 6 months since she abandoned her own brand of treatment in favor of actually following a treatment plan prescribed by , Doctors.  Yes---following Doctors Orders-- a plan that no senior citizen worth his or her salt would ever do, unless of course they reach near death .

About 6 months ago, MIL was near death, probably could have tilted over within a few hours as her fluid retention reached critical levels.

For the prior 18 months she had been deteriorating and BIL, Wife and I were doing the running, the cleaning, the shopping , the laundry and all the while we believed that she was properly medicating as we were taking her to Doctors and they were prescribing. 

But into this mix walked my daughter on one of her return trips home.  She said to me: "Dad, there is no way that she is taking her medication"  We had a little back and forth as that idea could not possibly be true.  Daughter the new nurse was insistent.

We looked , and we found that she in fact was not following instructions and that she had arbitrarily decided whiich medication she would or would not take.  We moved quickly at that point to make sure that all prescribed medications were dosed properly and taken.  We insisted on speaking with her Doctors, one of whom said that 10 years ago he had diagnosed her and that she did not like the diagnosis of Type II Diabetes and left saying she would handle it through diet and exercise, neither of which she did.

So when dealing with the elderly infirm, make sure someone checks on the actuality of their taking the medication.  MIL is now back to being largely self sufficient, but I can't help but think of the 18 months of added work and worry she put everyone to.  Because  of her stubborness.