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

Tag Archives: Attention seeking

the next few days are going to be fun!

4062bfa0a115ca5452472219bd9e04d9Well, big sister stopped by with a friend for a couple of minutes.  They didn’t stay long, as David was in tantrum mode.

You see, mom got the bandages removed today, and we just can’t have someone else get more attention than he is getting.

So big sister and friend turned around and left.  I don’t blame them, if I had a chance to get away for a bit, I would do so.

What kicked off the tantrum?  I asked him to clean up his toys and junk in the living room.

Since other people’s stuff was in the area, he reverted to the stand by argument that “I am not supposed to touch stuff that doesn’t belong to me.”

In reality, he is correct, isn’t he?  But…

As I walked away he made some inane comments.  About what I have no idea, and it doesn’t really matter.

So since he knows he is moving to the facility on Sunday, he has declared that the next few days are going to be fun.

He is getting to the point now where he can’t keep track of which lie he told to whom.

 

denial, denial, denial. who tried to start a fire

David, a moment of calm in a chaotic mind.

David, a moment of calm in a chaotic mind.

David got caught playing with matches in the bathroom.

When I asked him about why he was trying to burn down the house, he said “it would have taken more matches than I had, so I couldn’t do that.”

Now he denies trying to do anything of the sort.  He got caught digging in our bedroom.  Keys missing, a bottle of Febreeze laying on the bed and no explanation of what it is doing there.

So now when ever he is in the bathroom, he has to leave the door open a little ways so we can monitor his activity.  I don’t know what else to do.

I tell him he needs to pull his head out of his hind parts.  He claims no knowledge of any of it.  Said he lit one match.  Then he went into a dissertation about how the house could burn down if wires were crossed wrong in an outlet.

He denies everything.  He denies being in mom’s room, being in the bathroom playing with matches.

Now I am trying to talk to him, and he claims his medicines are kicking in and he needs to go to bed.

I just don’t know what to do.  He is also arguing constantly about technology.  I explained that he is there to learn through the mentor, social skills, not to play with technology.

Next week, I could see David escalating his behaviors while mom is having surgery.

Then he asks “why are you torturing me?”

We aren’t torturing him, we are trying get him the help he needs.

Are you serious?

roller-coaster

These are the steps that we go through to get admission to the mental health unit for David.

  1. Drive 50 miles one way.
  2. Present to reception desk staff.
  3. Present history and current case to intake ER Nurse.
  4. Wait for 1 – 2 hours.
  5. Present case to ER nurse.
  6. Wait for up to an hour.
  7. Present case to Doctor and intake note taker person.
  8. Wait for labs
  9. Wait for him to pee in a cup.
  10. Explain to lab personnel why they need to use a butterfly needle on my son.
  11. Wait in ER for consult from on-call psychiatrist.
  12. If approval for admission is granted we wait for ambulance for transport to the building where the unit is located.  If denied we go home.
  13. Wait some more.
  14. Follow ambulance to the unit.
  15. Wait for admission Nurse to bring out additional paperwork.
  16. Explain case to admission Nurse.
  17. Write down concerns, thoughts, issues, medications, visitor list, contact info for all visitors, staff and family.
  18. Authorize any over the counter medications that he may need like tylenol.
  19. Read through documentation, pamphlet, sign releases as necessary to allow them to communicate with his primary psychiatrist, social workers, care coordinator, and advocate.
  20. Say good night to David.

I go through this every time, and then they greet him by name.  It can take as few as 3 and as many as 6 hours to get through this process.

That said WHY IN THE HELL WOULD I MAKE THIS SHIT UP?