I have been away and part of my excuse is that my cousin has been in and out of the hospital because of seizures.

I've told you about her before, she's intellectually disabled and lives near us here in Las Vegas. Her disability is hard to describe because it's not Down Syndrome, it's not autism, it's not slow intellect. She is reasonably bright, can do simple math in her head and has a great memory, better than mine.

The disconnect is in logic and reasoning and ability to focus. She can't adjust a thermostat and her motor skills are such that she can't open food packets. I think of her as being like a bright, chatty six year-old who has been taught good manners and to avoid talking to strangers when she's by herself.

She lives alone in an apartment and has help come in every few days to help her cook meals, pay bills, see that she does her chores, and do errands like grocery shopping.

Betsy is a ward of the state so Nevada Social Services staff members supervise her life, and we are just a social adjunct. It's good for us because we don't have the responsibility of her daily life, our role is to be entertaining.

Last night we went over to the hospital to visit and took her an electronic poker game. She already has a word scramble game, like Scrabble and some other kinds, but I wasn't sure if she knows how to play poker or if she would complain the screen was too small or she couldn't figure out how to use the buttons. No danger of any of it. She glommed onto that game, pronounced it a 'good game' after the merest glance, and started in playing it. She was just thrilled, and actually had emotion in her voice when she thanked us for giving it to her.

Betsy's supposed to go home today, we're waiting to hear. They decided to change her seizure medicine, but she takes so many prescriptions, I think they should first eliminate a recent stomach remedy prescription that lists dizziness, interactions with seizure medication, and backaches as possible side effects and then see how she does. I voiced my concerns to one of the staff members, but they have other ideas, and it's not our place to get involved. If push really comes to shove I could enlist Betsy's older sister in Illinois, but even she doesn't have a lot of say, either.