March 15, 2013 - River Edge

03/15/13

It was Monday when the madness reached it’s peak. When I fetched Parrish to go to River Edge, the community health center for patients with behavioral disorders,

he was as manic as I have ever seen.  

He leaped into the car and began talking and shouting at the radio and laughing inappropriately and repeating my every word and perseverating.  

We arrived at River Edge with plenty of time for Parrish to be seen as a drop-in.  When he checked in, the clerk behind the glass said he didn’t have the required information to fill out an application.  

We thought that since P was treated there in October, having been referred by the Medical Center, that they would have his profile and could use the information.  Not so.  Since it has been over three months since he was seen, he is required to resubmit the documents that  prove he is eligible to receive treatment at the facility.

I dug into my file and found all the required documentation only to be told that it was too late in the day for Parrish to be seen.  I pleaded with the clerk, explaining that Parrish was in psychotic crisis, and that he was in dire need of medication.  He had two days left of the inadequate meds we got from the ER the last month.

The clerk, who had been aloof and hostile when P checked in, melted a little and slipped us in to see an admissions person.  The sympathetic woman there went out of her way to make arrangements for us to return the next day, Tuesday, for a nurse’s assessment. Such assessments are routine before the patient sees a doctor.  Parrish has an appointment with a doctor on April 11.  

The next morning, we presented ourselves for the appointment only to learn that it was pushed back to 11:00.  We went for coffee at Krispy Kreem and stood outside in the cold wind so P could chain smoke.  When we got back to the nurse’s office, I entertained him by helping him set up his phone.  It worked for a while but he got restless and loud and unhappy.

When we were ushered into the nurse’s office, Parrish’s mania intensified, and I was gratified that she could see the extent to which he is sick and in need of medication.  She obtained a record of his meds and had a psychiatrist write prescriptions.  

We left the assessment with five prescriptions and filled them at their pharmacy - four at $.50 and one for $3.00.  Yes, cj, there is a Santa Claus.  

It was two days before I could detect any improvement, but when P began to settle down, it was one of the most beautiful events in my life.  Yes, this is only the beginning, but we could not go forward with anything until he got medicated.

Yesterday, Thursday, three girls from his high school days picked him up and took him to Whistle Stop Cafe.  Earlier in the day we shopped for a few decent items of clothing so he would not be embarrassed.  He reported that he enjoyed the outing. 

Next Monday, March 17, Parrish will be evaluated by a court-appointed psychologist who will testify before the court as to Parrish’s fitness to take care of himself.  After that, the court will set a date for the hearing, and I should have guardianship by the first week in April.

A happy note:  Last spring, I planned a trip to Aix-en-Provence with Zona Rosa but was forced to cancel because of my illness.  Yesterday, after 10 months of trying to get the trip insurance company to pay, I found a check in my mailbox for $3,700  Yea!  Some good things are beginning to happen for me.  It makes the drama easier to tolerate.

© 2013 cj schlottman