Category Archives: advocate

Second Guesses

Second Guesses It’s been a long day, and while my body is tired, I can’t turn off my brain.  See, This is the second time in a month we have had David’s time in the facility extended.  While we both knew it was a possibility, I can’t help but feel that he is being let down.  I mean, it’s a huge victory for him to continue where he is successful until we can get supports in place for him to come out of the facility, but it’s not easy. In hindsight, I really don’t think David will see it as a victory, at least not until many years down the road.  But it is a victory for him.  For his care. It’s not easy to tell your child, “You can’t come home yet.”  Even if they know and claim to understand the why of it.  David understands that in order

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Against Medical Advice

Against Medical Advice. It’s been two years since this happened. Two years ago he was discharged against medical advice,  David was discharged from the facility in another state because the insurance people who create the Certificate of Need decided that he wasn’t making any progress and needed to go home. This week, he will be discharged from a different facility.  Not because of the Certificate of Need.  But because the facility says he doesn’t need support and should be sent home.  How can David continue to see the successes he has seen in care if he comes home to no support?  Even David recognizes that he needs support. I don’t understand how so few can over power the recommendations of so many doctors. Bad Parent I am a bad parent.  It’s a title my wife and I wear with honor. What makes us bad parents?  We are fighting for the

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The Hard Decision

I title this post “The Hard Decision” because we have had to make a difficult decision. We made the decision to not bring David home on pass. An expert in David’s disorder has recommended for safety reasons that David not come home. So we have made the decision to refuse passes.  At 15, as much as the facility would try to have us believe otherwise, David just doesn’t care. I doubt that anyone at the facility has any idea just how difficult it is to do something like this.  We have anguished about this decision since the recommendation first came from the doctor.  If David was the only one we were concerned about, it would be a no-brainer to us, and we would bring him home all the time on pass.  But without support at home, we just can’t put everyone at risk that way. Put aside your fear We

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