Can Tea Save My Sanity?

 

It was a mega tea cup kind of week. Unfortunately, there is still a fair amount of crazy in my world, so this is going to be a brief post. 

My mother had nasal surgery this week to try to improve her sleep apnea. She is doing a bit better than she usually does with surgery but is still suffering a great deal. She never does well with surgery and often needs double the recovery time suggested by doctors. She is staying with us while she recovers.

The real and ongoing chaos this week is coming from our daughter Katie. She has been very, very manic for a few weeks now. Her meds really are not working; in fact, I feel like they are working against her. When she is frightened and manic, she becomes a very demanding person and extremely concerned about her health. This leads to a host of doctor appointments, 911 calls, ambulance rides and emergency room visits. Sometimes, doctors find issues and other times not. She really struggles to advocate for herself in an appropriate manner (that is, she becomes nasty and profane), which quickly alienates the people who are trying to help her. On top of her mental health state, she had a nasty bicycle accident last weekend. It took several days and ER/Urgent Care visits for x-rays to finally show a hairline fracture in her clavicle (shoulder). She is in a great deal of pain. Unfortunately, her group home (which provides low level support to supposedly independent adults with mental health issues) is really not up to the task and seems to be handling her all wrong and even unkindly. This is making her want to run into the night to all kinds of places she thinks she would be happier and free from authority. Her desire most recently is to move to Florida because the ocean would be calming. There is no plan on how she would live or where she would stay in Florida. It is obvious to most of us that she needs a higher level of care, not total freedom. There is no reasoning with her right now. This is the nature of an adopted person who suffers from RAD, Fetal Alcohol, Schizoaffective and Bipolar Disorders and probably Borderline Personality Disorder. This combination of mental health disorders is so hard to interact with, and I am sure terrible to live with for my Katie. 

So when she calls at all hours of the day and night, I answer the phone and try to calm her. I try to focus on one topic and solve one tiny thing for her, if I can. But it all feels like it is caving in right now and that we could lose her to the streets at any moment. I have spent many, many hours this week on the phone with a social worker friend, who also is trying to help Katie. Prayers are very much appreciated. 

On a happier note ~ Tim got his very first paying job this week! He has done more than a dozen years of volunteer work, but this month he applied for a job working in a tiny board game store that we have frequented for years. They gave him an interview and hired him later that day. He will be working two days a week for a total of about 10 hours. He is very excited. We are so proud of him!

Blessings, Dawn