Hello Everyone, I have had an exciting time recently with my genealogical searching and it has led into areas I never would have imagined! I have traced part of my Islay DICK family to Glasgow in 1901. Separately, I was given letters of my great aunt (whose mother was a DICK) by my cousin here in the States. In this group of letters, were several from a particular person. Through searching the remaining 4 siblings of my ggrandmother, I have found the parents of the letter writer; though not her own BC as she was born after the scotlandspeople cutoff. I know I have the correct family/people because of information contained in the letters, the use of unusual names, and the fact that the letter writer was named after her mother's mother (this matches on her parent's marriage cert). When I realized that her parents were married in 1921; my mind really focused. She could still be alive! I traced the return address on the handwritten letters - so appreciative for that formal style of writing that lists all this information and discovered that she was at that time a patient in a psychiatric hospital. This raised even more questions; though I decided that if I'm to research the family, I cannot pick and choose just the happy, good things...and decided to forge ahead. I called the hospital in Scotland and though they could not give me information on the phone for confidentiality reasons, they confirmed that she is indeed still alive! I was so stunned and excited! I spoke to the Records Officer and to the nurse on the Ward. Unfortunately, her state of health is frail and she is not very lucid. To get any further information, I will need to prove to them who I am and that I am connected to this lady. I set merrily about this task, thinking of seeing her and perhaps getting some snippits of memories when my own mother brought me up short. In the letters (written in 1960 and 1983), this newly found great aunt had indicated that she had not had a visitor in many years. My Mom said "What if proving yourself you then are made her next of kin?" "What would be those responsibilities?" "Would you be then responsible for her 40-year hospitalization bill...for all her affairs?" I am thinking genealogically and my Mom is thinking practically. I have no idea how to sort this out. Has anyone been in a similar situation? I know from Google, that the hospital is a National Health Service facility; but I have no idea how this is administered as I am a US citizen. I am in unknown territory, and would appreciate thoughts or information...or even what type of person in Scotland could assist me understanding this? I should be getting ready for our move to Virginia, but I can't get this 'new' relative out of my mind.... Thanks very much, Allison Florida (soon to be Virginia), USA