Hello.
My daughter is currently in the hospital and is refusing treatment for a grave condition.
I am trying to get help filing the necessary forms for a conservatorship.
I’ve called a few law offices, but not much help there.
Has anyone filed for conservatorship in California?
Have you spoken to the hospital social worker?
Thank you! Called the social worker office, and was given the number for the County Guardianship office.
And off we go…
An update to anyone who may be interested. I was told that the doctor needs to determine capacity and will start the conservatorship process. Family cannot initiate this.
Thanks for letting us know such valuable information!
Yes, I have. Thank you!
I believe the process is in motion.
Hoping for the best for you and your daughter.
Please keep us posted
Good luck with conservatorship and I hope your daughter gets the health care she needs soon. Hugs and prayer to both of you.
Hello. I am in tears and my hands are shaking. My daughter is still at Memorial Hsp unable to walk or stand. She has an external catheter and is bowel incontinent. She will require B12 injections for life.
She is unaware of how dire her situation is and is refusing most treatment.
The social worker just called to inform me that she is medically stable, as they cannot force treatment. The telepsych says she is not eligible for forced treatment. Unbelievable!!
She is currently in psychosis, believing that the hospital staff are harming her and other patients in the hospital are threatening to kill her.
Isn’t refusing medical assistance due to mental illness a “danger to self?”
The hospital she was to be transferred to (Sutter) to continue treatment will not accept her, as she is “medically cleared” by Memorial Hospital.
Yesterday, Sutter was helpful and ready to help guide me and start the conservatorship process. Now that she is no longer transferring to Sutter, that assistance has vanished.
They “do not do” conservatorship paperwork at Memorial. So, there you go.
I spoke AGAIN to the SW at Memorial and then to her manager who listened but did not offer much hope as their hands are tied.
Amanda “sees” the telepsych again this afternoon. After much argument from me that she do so. However, I am doubtful the telepsych will change her prognosis.
This whole thing has me so upset. The laws in the US around mental health need to change!!!
I know, I am preaching to the choir.
Thank you for listening.
P.S. I have begun reading Dr Amador’s book, “I’m not sick, I Don’t Need Help”. I feel the LEAP technique will help me in getting her to accept medical treatment, as it is the same thought process telling her she is not schizophrenic.
Great just great, your daughter’s condition has stabilized making it impossible for the emergency conservatorship to move forward?
She has stabilized, so there is that, at least. Will her health be permanently harmed if her current condition is not treated? Have you attempted a call to your county judge’s office? Are you able to be in the room with your daughter? By any chance has she told you she is trying to kill herself? Has her psychiatrist made any suggestions at all?? Is the psychiatrist doing the televisit her usual doctor? Any chance her own psychiatrist would tell a judge she is incompetent to make medical decisions?
I am so sorry, this is a mess, take a deep breath and keep making phone calls.
The hospital considers her stable, as there is nothing more they can do for her because she is not accepting treatment.
The tele psych is provided by the hospital and after loud, angry insistance on my part, they have re-evaluated her.
This time she met with a psychiatrist who wrote, “The patient lacks the capacity to make her own medical decisions, she needs a surrogate decision maker to help her make those decisions.”
A victory!!! For today. And that’s okay.
Thank goodness! Good job MominCrisis - well done!
A New Day!
My daughter has begun cooperating with staff in her treatment! She worked with the physical therapist yesterday and walked down the hall, no walker at 50% assistance.
What changed her attitude? The key to her mindshift, I believe, was recognizing that the next move was up to her. She needed to take action to change her situation. The nurse told my daughter that she will have to remain at the hospital “because bf and family will not take you home unless you can walk. No other hospitals will admit you because you are medically cleared.”
Hopefully, I will begin the conservatorship process today. She will be transferred to Physical Rehab as soon as she is accepted. From there, I will push for her to go to inpatient MH, then drug rehab. Again.
I would also like to add a note to this post. A warning about what caused my daughter’s spinal cord damage. She has been using nitrous oxide, a legal substance sold in many smoke shops. She was buying them by the box 10 or 12 to a box. They are small silver cannisters. My daughter used a professional whip cream dispenser (the type you use in a restaurant) to inhale the nitrous oxide.
When inhaled, she would instantly, “go comatose”, head falling, eyes unable to focus. Nitrous oxide is laughing gas, and she would laugh uncontrollably. The high lasts only minutes.
She also has burns on her thighs from the freezing cold cannister resting on her legs as she was passed out.
Here is an article my husband found on the subject:.
Doctors warn of rise in nerve damage linked to nitrous oxide | Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) | The Guardian
I am so thankful for this forum.
I hope this is okay to share with the group a resource I found.
Morgan Smythe worked diligently with my husband and I to put together a convincing case for LPS Conservatorship. She listened, was very thoughtful about our approach, and actually CARES.
Highly recommended.