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Ch..Ch…Changes
A lot has changed around here in the past couple of weeks. I’ve gone back to work in an office, after working from home for nearly 3 years. Our daughter has gone from thinking we suck, to wanting to hang out with us, to thinking we suck again (she’s 14). It went from 79 and…
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Thanks but….
I get a lot of unsolicited advice on dealing with Tim. Most of it is meant with good intentions, I know that. Rarely do I get comments from buttinskis that mean their advice more to admonish my parenting than truly be helpful. Those are usually the people that have no freakin’ idea what we’re dealing…
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Relief
When we talked to Tim on the phone last Thursday, he seemed to be a bit homesick. “When are you coming?” he asked. This is a big change from when he was inpatient. He used to love to play the punishment game with us every time he was in the hospital. The first 2-4 days,…
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Cycling
Talked to Tim on the phone last night. “My voices are back,” he said. As he’s gotten older, he has started to get the ability to separate his own thoughts from the three voices he shares his head with, at least for a time. After secretly congratulating myself for warning his case manager that this…
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Dealing With Rage
(Note: This was a comment I left on http://www.januaryfirst.org/ – The Milk Keeps Spilling.) We learned to perform what’s called a “therapeutic hold” to keep our son from hurting us or others or himself. It’s sort of like a wrestling maneuver, but will restrain someone so that they are immobile but not in pain. It…
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First Visit
So – Tim’s been in RTC for two weeks now. We saw him twice over the holiday weekend, for about an hour on Friday, and about 15 minutes yesterday. Friday was a good visit – he told us about his “friends,” was happy to say he got the posters I sent him for his room…
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One Week
A week has gone by since we checked Tim into ODTC for residential treatment. We’ve talked to him on the phone three times, and all three times were pretty much the same: he’s fine, so far everything is good, when are we coming to visit. I think he’s realized that, unlike when he was hospitalized,…
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All Checked In
After two years of ICG applications, denials, appeals, IEP meetings, inpatient hospitalizations, broken doors, bruises, rages, locks, letters to elected officials, and vigilance, Tim was admitted to and settled at ODTC yesterday. They were very thourough at intake – took him for a tour, show him his room, then asked us a ton of questions…
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What It’s Like Driving With Tim
Here’s a recap of my car ride with Tim to Walmart yesterday: (incoherent mumbling while staring down in his lap) “When are the Marines gonna be here? For the war?” (I replied, no Marines, no war here) (whispering) “She says there’s no war here. I don’t know….” (more incoherent mumbling) “Woooo Wooooo!!” – while making…
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The Time In Between
Tim was discharged from the hospital last Saturday. I’d taken our daughter up to Wisconsin to visit my parents for a few days on Thursday, and Tom and Tim joined us on Saturday late afternoon. I wouldn’t normally take him straight from an inpatient stay to visit family, but this was his last chance to…