Be assured, Shannon, that the doctors and nurses and probably social workers by this time see your mother’s mental illness very clearly. It’s pretty hard to hide mental illness in a hospital. Those folks have seen it all. You are doing the right thing by taking this break and letting the pieces fall where they will. You are an exemplary human being with a beautiful, loving soul.

I had my narcissistic sister “taking care” of me post-liver-transplant and it was a complete nightmare for me. Turns out, my care team knew all the time about her so-called hidden mental disorder. They listened to ME when it came to important decisions. But I was a wreck by the time I could return to Denver (my home) from Cleveland, where the transplant took place. And she still can scare the crap out of me! But we all deal. And now the whole country is dealing with a mentally disordered president.