Category Archives: Health

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Less than 24 hours and a wake up

Less than 24 hours and a wake up from now, barring some intervention, David will be home.

He will come home from a supported environment where he has constant supervision, consistent support, and success in school, to home.

Home where we can’t recreate the level of support he has now.

  If something happens to me or someone in the family, remind the people at the facility and at the state, that I warned them that something would happen.

Where we will live on edge waiting for him to fall apart mentally.

We are appealing the denials, but all of that takes time.  The Developmental Disabilities denial, the supported living staff denial, and general disregard for the welfare of not just the family, but of David.  I am preparing a complaint with the ethics board that governs psychologists because of their unauthorized testing of David.

I don’t understand how a facility that claims to be helping children, can be so emboldened as to deny ongoing care.

David understands that he may go to a therapeutic foster home if we can get one approved.  He also understands that there is a limited chance he will get extended again at the facility.

I have made arrangements for him to be transported to school.  The day school he will attend is 58 miles from home.  Our local district will provide transportation.

At this point, I have done everything I know how to do.  I have spoken with those I can speak with and who will listen.  However, the ones who are in control at this point, are also the ones who have dug their heals in so tightly that they are no longer helping the situation.

I look forward to completing their survey, because honestly,, I can find nothing “trauma informed” about their care of our son.

Please, if you are of a mind to, please pray for David.  Share this post far and wide.

If something happens to me or someone in the family, remind the people at the facility and at the state, that I warned them that something would happen.

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SMI and the Tragedy of Adulthood

SMI – Serious Mental Illness

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health  (NSDUH), which defines SMI (Serious Mental Illness) as:

Rethink Mental Illness

Rethink Mental Illness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, what does this have to do with David?

David came to us when he was 18 months old.  We became his parents, legally, 6 months later.  In truth, since he was just months old, he has been a part of our lives.  Mom had a home daycare.  And we filled in as needed for his foster family‘s day care provider.

David is 15 now, in the blink of an eye, he will be 21 years old.  What happens to his care then?

This is the tragedy of adulthood for someone with a Serious Mental Illness.  Without the appropriate diagnosis, all care basically ends, regardless of what his actual needs are.  Unless two conditions are met.

Conditions

  1. Appropriate diagnosis.  –  something like Schizoeffective Disorder.  Each diagnosis that David has currently isn’t enough by themselves to get him continued care after he reaches 21.  Together they aren’t enough.  He has to have the right diagnosis.
  2. Jail/Prison.  He can receive mental health care that he needs, in prison.

111What kind of life is that?  With basic care, staff and supports, there is, I believe, a huge potential for him to lead a productive life.

Now, I caution my readers, his productive life isn’t going to be the same as yours or mine.  For him, it might be as simple as getting out of bed each day and playing video games. But if that keeps him and others safe, that’s okay.  It could be that he does something else.  The key here is safety and out of prison.

So again, how does this help him?  How does this help any adult who struggle with Serious Mental Illness?

 

 

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Safety, a blanket I want to wrap around my family.

Safety.

the website dictionary.com defines safety as:

noun, plural safeties.
1. the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.
2. the quality of averting or not causing injury, danger, or loss.
3. a contrivance or device to prevent injury or avert danger.

This weekend we are bringing David home on an overnight pass.  This goes against every fiber of my being.  It’s not that he doesn’t deserve the pass.  It’s safety.  Safety for all involved.

The facility has told us that if we don’t do overnight passes, they will just discharge him.  I literally can’t risk that happening.  So we are going to do an overnight pass.

Only thing is, we will hire someone to be at our home taking care of our dogs while we take the rest of the family to a hotel in the city near where the facility David is in is located.  Then we will stay the night in a hotel.

It’s an overnight pass.  We live in a small town, and I can’t take the chance that law enforcement will be on the other side of the county when we need them.  I know, there is a chance we won’t need them, but I can’t risk it.

I can’t afford this weekend to happen, we need to replace our furnace.  Yet, I can’t afford for it not to happen either because of safety.

In the end, it is about management of risk.

English: Diagram illustrating the relationship...

English: Diagram illustrating the relationship between the three components of risk analysis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am stuck with one question.

“How does this help?”

I wish that safety was a giant quilt I could use to protect everyone.

We will be less than 10 miles from the facility, versus the 60 miles to our home.