The answer should be yes. Not "how can I get my loved one help?"

Category Archives: Thankful

An update on the Crisis Mode.

It is midnight here at the home.  Just got a call from staff.

David was taken off “close watch” at 2 pm this afternoon.  What this means is that they have loosened his keeper.  He doesn’t have someone practically attached to him.  And while he will be monitored frequently, he won’t have someone sitting in his room watching him sleep.

He remembers what happened yesterday, and is working to articulate what happened.

This a huge positive for David.  He usually doesn’t remember his manic periods.

His treatment is still set back a bit, but he is still leaps and bounds where he was when he was admitted last January.

Thank you to all of David’s readers.  Countless numbers of you have offered prayer and positive thoughts.  Believe me, in my mind it has helped.  Words can not express how it feels to have so much support from people who don’t know David except through these pages.

We are currently reviewing David’s meds to see if an adjustment is necessary.

Home sweet home, again.

1176 miles.

From home, to the residential facility and back again.  4 days.

The thing about driving.  It gives a person a lot of time to think.  Ruminations about fatherhood, about things that a person might have done differently for David.

I keep coming back to one inalienable truth.

We did what we had to do.  Not just for David.  But for the whole family.  No one should live in constant fear from a loved one.  Forcing the whole family to live in such a way, at least in my mind, is a form of psychological torture.  I include David.

David didn’t deserve to be constantly in trouble, constantly talked down to, or treated meanly because of his behaviors.  Sure they were relentless.  Sure they hurt, but they were a symptom of a larger problem.

I pray that the David I spent the last couple of days with continues to grow and develop.  Regardless, he is still our son and brother.  He is deserving of as positive a life as he can develop.  We can’t force him to make changes in his life, we can give him the tools necessary to develop those changes for himself.

I see how much more relaxed our older boys are without the constant pressure to be aware of where David is, and what he is doing.  I saw the same with our girls when they were home from college for Thanksgiving.  I see it in my bride.  And I know I feel it in myself.

For someone with auto-immune disease such as Lupus, a trip like this is hard on the body.  There are financial reasons why we can’t go see him more often, but the largest reason is physical.  My body just can’t take the travel like it used to when I was in the Army.  Where I could drive 1800 miles in a shot without stopping for more than restrooms, gas and food.

Already planning for my next chance to see David.  Hopefully in January.  One of the things I want to work on in the new year is the development of an Autism unit at one of the residential facilities in North Dakota.  This will let us bring David closer to home.

A message of giving thanks.

I shared this on my facebook wall.  It struck me as something that my many readers may want benefit from reading.

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If you are reading this, then you are in some way important to me.

It is my hope that on this American holiday, Thanksgiving, that each of you have a blessed day with friends and/or family. If you are lucky like me, they are one and the same.

Be thankful for what you have. While our world has its faults, it is the only one that we have. We need to do a better job of stewarding it and its resources for future generations.

We also need to be kinder to our fellow man. If you peel the skin off of one person from every race and/or ethnic group you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. I am not advocating peeling the skin off of anyone, rather I am saying that we can overcome the differences.

In the coming year, it is my greatest hope that the politicians in our world will find a way to work together to better our world for all people, not just the ones affiliated with a particular party or economic group. Remember, it never hurts to dream.

For those in any of the groups that I am honored to be a member of, may you experience renewed health, and less pain. We are the people that we are in spite of the health and pain that we feel. I am thankful that each of you is part of my life’s journey.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends. Many Blessings.

Carl