Fighting for Answers | Category Archives: visitvisit Archives

Ever Vigilant, Hyper-Vigilant

Vigilant. Hyper-Vigilant. We had an overnight pass with David over the weekend. While things went well, there were near constant redirects. There wasn’t anything that can lay a finger on as saying this is a huge issue. It was just little stuff. Rather than bringing him home, with the risk that such a trip entails, at least for overnights, we had a hotel. The idea of using a hotel was endorsed by the facility. In fact, they paid for it. Because we had all of the boys, our hotel room had two queen beds and a pull out. David and I were on one bed, mom on another and the other two boys on the pullout. Now, in the past when David has been home, I was the primary parent. I was awake at night to keep him out of trouble. And while I didn’t stay awake the whole night,

Happy One Year Placement Anniversary David

Ironically, the day after we receive notice of denial of coverage of services for our son, is the anniversary of his placement at the current facility. It has been one year since we placed David in a facility 500 miles from home. Today, I am struggling with the stress of not knowing where we are at with my youngest son’s mental health treatment. The denial of continued care is weighing heavily on my mind, and it will be Tuesday before I can file any appeals. He deserves better than this from the system that is responsible in part for his care. When we adopted him, he was ordered by the court to have complete state sponsored medical coverage until he turns 18. This is Medicaid. It isn’t safe for anyone for him to come home. Even the staff that works with him day to day has said that. A month

The first pass of this trip.

David has been on a plan. This relates to behaviors they display in the residence hall. As a result he was at risk of losing part of his pass / visit with me. I am not complaining. My reality is that if he is exhibiting behaviors, and I am in town, then he loses pass time. My rules. It is harsh. But he is being held accountable for his behavior. So when I found out he was on a plan, I was a bit leery of how any pass would go. Imagine my surprise. The pass was incredible. No issues. We ate supper in the dining hall, and it reminded me a lot of military mess halls. He ate 90% of his supper, which I gather is unusual. His meds take away much of his appetite so he basically eats and gets rewarded for doing so. When David was at