So it seems like the residence where David is has this belief that after 1 year his issues should go away.
If only mental illness worked that way.
You know how it is.. on day 364, mental illness is still raging. on day 365, it is magically gone.
yeah, that’s the ticket.
Got an email from our staff today. They don’t know from hour to hour what David’s mood and behavior are going to be.
Where have they been for the last 14 months? Has David not been in their care? We told them this when we filled out the placement application. Every month at our staffing we told them.
When he becomes Manic, we tell them you need to update his meds. You need to change his meds. If he is displaying
manic behaviors, his meds aren’t working. Every MONTH.
David was born addicted to a lot of drugs. As a result his body metabolizes them quickly and the medications lost their effectiveness over time. We told them this when David moved in. We have told them this every month or two since David moved in. It still seems like they don’t understand.
Christmas is coming. It is our sincere hope that David stay in his current placement through Christmas.
Oh, one other thing the email mentioned. David seems to have some anxiety.
Gee, I wonder why? He is afraid no one wants him and he doesn’t want to move. Hello!
I close with this thought.
If the current placement can’t handle him with a full complement of staff, what makes them think it is remotely safe for us to bring him home for a couple of days before we take him to the new facility? How is that a good idea?
I can’t turn my home into a psychiatric facility for a couple of days. I can’t bring a bunch of strangers into my home for a couple of days to support David.
Why?
Well outside of the financial aspects of such a proposition, I can’t do that to our other kids. How would that be fair to them?
When you have a child with severe mental illness, you have to juggle their needs, with the needs of the family.
Are their needs any less important?
No.
Are David’s needs less important?
No.
So we juggle. It is a fact of life. Will David ever return home?
I would love it. It is ok to have dreams.
Isn’t it?
Related articles
- A letter to my son. David. (whynotfathers.com)
- PRTF Level Care (whynotfathers.com)
- SPEAKING OUT ON MENTAL ILLNESS – Sticky Issues (janesaysrise.com)
- If you don’t think you know someone with a serious mental illness, you’re wrong. (me2orchestra.org)
- If physical diseases were treated like mental illness (robynlgiles.wordpress.com)
- A Ministry for the Mentally Ill (kimfamilyfighting.wordpress.com)
