HereWeGoAgain
Grandpa
Hi everybody. Its been six months and a lot has happened since I was last posting.
Lets see I lost my job, and we decided to move back to our home town at the end of January. Our little 14yo dog wandered away from the new house two days after we arrived and has not been seen since. The little guy ranks up there with wife and easy child 1 in my heart and it has been very hard.
Last September I posted about difficult child nearly dying. She had quit taking her thyroid and psychiatric medications, was using, drinking, eating poorly, purging, and gobbling antacid tablets by the dozens -- was taken to the ER after vomiting all day. Her potassium level had dropped to near zero while her calcium level went through the roof, causing her kidneys to nearly shut down. However, they managed to stabilize her just before it became necessary to do dialysis.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. In short, difficult child heard from her bio-dad after nearly twenty years of no contact. They hatched a plan for her to go down and live with him. difficult child got established in an outbuilding at his place and got a job waitressing. A lot of tension built up between difficult child and bio dad's wife, and at the end of February difficult child moved out to stay with her assistant manager from the restaurant.
March 10th difficult child went into the hospital with a repeat of the September episode, only not as severe this time. The restaurant fired her for missing work but relented and let her come back to work on Friday the 13th. She stole money from the register and went out on a methamphetamine and alcohol bender for several days. By Thursday she was strung out and in very bad shape. She called wife and told her she had a bed lined up at a rehab in our town (about 40 miles from her bio dads town) if she could just get here. On the strength of her word, I got her and drove her to the ER for detox, and waited with her until they saw her at 2 a.m. Friday.
A few minutes after I got home, I got a call from difficult child, crying hysterically, wanting to be picked up and brought to our house. The hospital would not admit her, and the rehab bed was fiction. I went and got her, but would not bring her home.
difficult child was not able to explain what theyd told her at the hospital. She would start raging and cursing in response to any questions. I spoke to the nurse and found out she had been referred to a behavioral health center which is open around the clock. We went there and after a short wait a staffer came out and told us basically to get lost. difficult child was somewhat calmed down, or maybe just exhausted, by this time about 4 a.m. I took her to a motel, got her checked in, and promised to call before check-out time.
After getting some sleep I called the behavioral health center back -- they were very surprised we had been turned away and told me to bring difficult child back and they would do an evaluation.
When I got to the motel the police and an ambulance pulled up at the same time. difficult child had called another hospital, and they had called the police, emergency medical services, and an organization here which helps people who are undergoing a psychiatric emergency. A team from this organization showed up a few minutes later. They were awesome. They had a great rapport built up with the police and emergency medical service, who were just great, too caring, compassionate, and highly competent at dealing with situations like this. The seven of us decided that I should take difficult child back to the behavioral health center followed by the psychiatric emergency team, who would explain things to the behavioral health center staff. difficult child was admitted to the crisis care unit and is still there, working on placement in an inpatient program for co-occurring mental health/substance abuse.
Most places shes called have a waiting list. difficult child has been calling here constantly trying to wear me down to let her come here to wait to get into a program, and wife is only half on board (if that) with not letting her come here. difficult child thinks its our job to take care of her she says shes doing everything shes supposed to, as though getting better is something she has to do for us instead of for herself, and we owe her room and board in return. Meanwhile wife and I are in constant conflict with me repeating why she cant come here and wife wanting to cave and let her every time she calls.
I wish the durned merry-go-round would quit and let me off for a while.
Lets see I lost my job, and we decided to move back to our home town at the end of January. Our little 14yo dog wandered away from the new house two days after we arrived and has not been seen since. The little guy ranks up there with wife and easy child 1 in my heart and it has been very hard.
Last September I posted about difficult child nearly dying. She had quit taking her thyroid and psychiatric medications, was using, drinking, eating poorly, purging, and gobbling antacid tablets by the dozens -- was taken to the ER after vomiting all day. Her potassium level had dropped to near zero while her calcium level went through the roof, causing her kidneys to nearly shut down. However, they managed to stabilize her just before it became necessary to do dialysis.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. In short, difficult child heard from her bio-dad after nearly twenty years of no contact. They hatched a plan for her to go down and live with him. difficult child got established in an outbuilding at his place and got a job waitressing. A lot of tension built up between difficult child and bio dad's wife, and at the end of February difficult child moved out to stay with her assistant manager from the restaurant.
March 10th difficult child went into the hospital with a repeat of the September episode, only not as severe this time. The restaurant fired her for missing work but relented and let her come back to work on Friday the 13th. She stole money from the register and went out on a methamphetamine and alcohol bender for several days. By Thursday she was strung out and in very bad shape. She called wife and told her she had a bed lined up at a rehab in our town (about 40 miles from her bio dads town) if she could just get here. On the strength of her word, I got her and drove her to the ER for detox, and waited with her until they saw her at 2 a.m. Friday.
A few minutes after I got home, I got a call from difficult child, crying hysterically, wanting to be picked up and brought to our house. The hospital would not admit her, and the rehab bed was fiction. I went and got her, but would not bring her home.
difficult child was not able to explain what theyd told her at the hospital. She would start raging and cursing in response to any questions. I spoke to the nurse and found out she had been referred to a behavioral health center which is open around the clock. We went there and after a short wait a staffer came out and told us basically to get lost. difficult child was somewhat calmed down, or maybe just exhausted, by this time about 4 a.m. I took her to a motel, got her checked in, and promised to call before check-out time.
After getting some sleep I called the behavioral health center back -- they were very surprised we had been turned away and told me to bring difficult child back and they would do an evaluation.
When I got to the motel the police and an ambulance pulled up at the same time. difficult child had called another hospital, and they had called the police, emergency medical services, and an organization here which helps people who are undergoing a psychiatric emergency. A team from this organization showed up a few minutes later. They were awesome. They had a great rapport built up with the police and emergency medical service, who were just great, too caring, compassionate, and highly competent at dealing with situations like this. The seven of us decided that I should take difficult child back to the behavioral health center followed by the psychiatric emergency team, who would explain things to the behavioral health center staff. difficult child was admitted to the crisis care unit and is still there, working on placement in an inpatient program for co-occurring mental health/substance abuse.
Most places shes called have a waiting list. difficult child has been calling here constantly trying to wear me down to let her come here to wait to get into a program, and wife is only half on board (if that) with not letting her come here. difficult child thinks its our job to take care of her she says shes doing everything shes supposed to, as though getting better is something she has to do for us instead of for herself, and we owe her room and board in return. Meanwhile wife and I are in constant conflict with me repeating why she cant come here and wife wanting to cave and let her every time she calls.
I wish the durned merry-go-round would quit and let me off for a while.
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