Pages 197 through 220 Summary and Analysis

Surviving: Pat, Phillip's mother who stayed on the property and who Dugard had hardly ever seen, had become severely ill. She was diagnosed with both Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, so both her body and mind were being ravaged. She began to need constant care, and she was attended to by Nancy and Dugard.

Pat's decline paralleled a similar decline in the house and the family. A new law required that parole officers visit Phillip more frequently. Phillip became enraged at these intrusions, and eventually stopped hiding Dugard and the children out of frustration and because the officers would visit at unannounced times. One parole officer saw Dugard's oldest child, but didn't ask questions.

As far as the house, the sink would back up with filth and it had to be siphoned with a tube several times a day...