So…I tried making an appointment for my son and I to visit my husband in jail and was unable to get an one online. The site said there was “no appointment block for this inmate”. So I called the visitation department at the jail and no answer. I called the infirmary where he is being housed, left a message, no call back. So last night around 6:00 my son gets a call from his father. He comes running out of his room and tells me that his Dad is on the phone and he is in the state hospital…I spoke to him and asked him how long he had been there and he said a few days. I would have never known this had he not called. We had a decent conversation but he skirted around the issue of medication when I asked him if he was taking them…translation: no, he is not on meds. I just asked him to go with the program, take his meds, get better and get out of there. I have a feeling he will be there long term though, but it is better than short term, 7-10 days…“treat them and street them” which has not worked. The place he is in is not easy as most state mental institutions aren’t and it’s not his first time at the rodeo, so to speak. I would like for him to straighten out, get insight and admit there is a problem and go from there, but that is a tall order. I don’t think I can turn him away again and leave him on his own…I don’t think he will have a chance in hell to survive without his family and I don’t see myself living with that guilt or pain, I have already done this long enough. I have been with him for 25 years and he is the father to my son and all I can think about is how he used to be and how much I loved that man he once was. I only get a glimmer of that person once in a blue moon. Only time with tell!
You said : I would like for him to straighten out, get insight and admit there is a problem and go from there,
Unfortunately,for you and your husband,there is no problem,in his mind.
It takes years sometimes,to get this disease under “control” and when they take their medication,to them,it’s like
they are a completely different person and they can’t handle the difference because as my son said " I have that “inside,outside feeling”.
I just kept at it with him and it finally worked and he has been stable for a few years now.
You have to persevere and have tons of patience and love and try to get him all the help available.
Good luck and I hope everything works out for you and your family.
P.S. I know I keep harping on this but try to get him to use earphones with a Walkman,to listen to music.
Sometimes it helps to get rid of the voices,he might hear.