Update Brother receiving treatment

[BarbieBF]

Continuing the discussion from Need advice, thinking of running:

@BlessedgirlVA

SurprisedJ,
Thanks so much! Yes, my parents are finally starting to draw some lines, and while I am still a bit doubtful they will stand behind them, I am hoping they will. Dad actually did more than just the homeless shelter thing. He also talked to my brother’s neighbors and told them to call the police the next time they are disturbed by his noise, and also told my brother this. He also told my brother that he, my Dad, would call the police the next time he destroys the house. And he put a block on the home phone so my brother can’t call my parents’ house, but he can still call my mom’s cell phone. And they told him he could only call once a day. I am sure that’s not happening, but hopefully my parents are only answering once a day. They are monitoring his voicemails. When he’s really bad, he will call up to 20-30 times a day. Dad has a meeting set up with the PACT team (the group that does home visits & meds in the home) so we’re hoping they can establish contact with my brother. Not sure if he will even let them in the house.

But, praise God, he has been taking his meds since he got out 12/24. They doubled his dose in the hospital which he desperately needed. He’s better, but still ill. We’re hoping he’ll go to a doctor’s appt that’s coming up soon, and that the pdoc will take him on as a patient.

I think a big part of this change was that I was able to find a private social worker for my parents and I to meet with. I was at my wits ends and despite my asking them to work with someone, they weren’t doing anything, so I found someone. She works part time for county mental health, so she knows the system. We’ve seen her twice I think, and will see her again in a few weeks. Mom & Dad are basically using her as a coach or consultant, and I also plan to do some individual work with her to focus on long term planning and what I can/cannot handle. So things are finally looking up.

Thanks for your encouragement.

I’m glad your parent’s are listening to the social worker. I would have to say that the support that I get from the family counselor and other member’s of my sons team is a great help to me. They help me to understand what is behavior and what is SZ related so that I can put in place more appropriate boundaries. As much as my son complains about them he does better with them. My son is also on a waiting list to get into PACT as they provide more support then the early intervention program he is currently in. I’m glad things are looking up and that your brother is doing better.

[SurprisedJ]

My sister has been with an Sibling support group for years and I never really thought much about it. That was her thing. I was a bit puzzled why she could tell strangers about stuff she couldn’t tell me. But she just said it made her happy to go. So I didn’t make a big deal of it.

Her group has really upset her recently, due to a new facilitator and some very negative and hateful people that she says she just can’t take anymore. So she quit going. I’ve noticed a difference. She seems to be a bit lost. She says she misses the outlet, but she can’t handle the pure hate and anger of the people in her last group.

She was telling me that even in this time, with me starting to take better care of myself, it really helped her to talk to a non-family member and a non-involved person about trials and tribulations of seeing SZ on the outside looking in. I’m beginning to think she really misses this external support.

I’m now starting to see that we really are all in this together and support for the caregivers is just as important in this whole process as support for us.