The following day, I visited Jason and I noticed he was not himself. He seemed withdrawn and responded with a lot less emotion. I learned that he was prescribed additional medication because of the "voices" he was hearing in his head. Each day, I saw him getting more withdrawn, less emotional and more suicidal. I started to believe that Jason was a lot sicker than I originally thought as he was spiraling downwards very fast. We were losing him and the journey was to be a very dangerous, destructive, and almost fatal one.
Bev and I didn't know what to do except trust in the psychiatrist and others who were trying to help Jason. The doctors believed that he was mentally ill and that the prescribed drugs would eventually turn things around for him. Jason was diagnosed as having "major depression and borderline personality disorder". He kept getting sicker as time passed but we were told that the drugs can take up to 6 weeks before kicking in. When the dosage would change or when new medication was introduced, the waiting would extend further. The psychiatrist didn't know Jason prior to admitting him to the psych ward. The privacy laws do not permit open communication between the psychiatrist and the family, especially when the patient is legally considered an adult.
Our faith began to grow a lot more simply and it narrowed to one thing... that God loves all of us and, in the bigger picture, it will all be good. This didn't mean that we believed God would heal Jason because we honestly didn't know what would happen, he doesn't heal everybody that needs healing. But, in the darkest moments of this journey, we hung on to this one and only belief, that our heavenly Father loves us and knows what's best for our family, whatever that looked like. I once thought that when people had faith like this that it meant they were pretty spiritual. Now, I know differently. There is no way we were able to make ourselves believe that "all would be good in God's way". Faith is a gift that we found within us and we thank God for it. This didn't mean we felt confident and at peace that all would be heavenly, some days we felt stretched more than we can handle. But, hanging on to a measure of faith in this one thing gave us what we needed one day at a time which made the journey more bearable.
Bev and I didn't know what to do except trust in the psychiatrist and others who were trying to help Jason. The doctors believed that he was mentally ill and that the prescribed drugs would eventually turn things around for him. Jason was diagnosed as having "major depression and borderline personality disorder". He kept getting sicker as time passed but we were told that the drugs can take up to 6 weeks before kicking in. When the dosage would change or when new medication was introduced, the waiting would extend further. The psychiatrist didn't know Jason prior to admitting him to the psych ward. The privacy laws do not permit open communication between the psychiatrist and the family, especially when the patient is legally considered an adult.
Our faith began to grow a lot more simply and it narrowed to one thing... that God loves all of us and, in the bigger picture, it will all be good. This didn't mean that we believed God would heal Jason because we honestly didn't know what would happen, he doesn't heal everybody that needs healing. But, in the darkest moments of this journey, we hung on to this one and only belief, that our heavenly Father loves us and knows what's best for our family, whatever that looked like. I once thought that when people had faith like this that it meant they were pretty spiritual. Now, I know differently. There is no way we were able to make ourselves believe that "all would be good in God's way". Faith is a gift that we found within us and we thank God for it. This didn't mean we felt confident and at peace that all would be heavenly, some days we felt stretched more than we can handle. But, hanging on to a measure of faith in this one thing gave us what we needed one day at a time which made the journey more bearable.
After about a week in the psychiatric ward, he was transferred to a transitional home where men and women share meals and cleaning duties together. We were told that he would be staying there for about 3 months before returning home. A week later, he experienced an emotional setback and was taken back to the psych ward for a few more days. From there, they moved him to 24th Avenue, another transitional home with staff support around the clock. This proved to be disastrous for Jason as he quickly developed male and female relationships who resided there with him. These relationships were unhealthy ones as everybody was struggling with their various issues. Jason was hurt by some failed relationships and learned some very destructive behaviors while staying at "24".
Another important lesson learned was to push harder to meet with the psychiatrist so that he can know and better understand Jason. Meetings with the psychiatrist should also be permitted to monitor the reaction to the medication being prescribed. If there is little or no cooperation, the request should be taken to higher authorities and if necessary, a formal complaint should be registered with provincial bodies such as the College of Physicians, Mental Health review panels, and the Canadian Mental Health Association. Unfortunately, like us, most people are not aware of the options available to them. Maybe with more awareness, the quality of mental health rehabilitation will improve. Next week, we will be sharing some of the darker experiences of this journey, further emphasizing the dangers of psychiatric drugs. For shocking information about the psychiatric industry, check out this video and the related ones at the following link: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8652960977963341187
If you know anybody that might be helped by this information, please do not hesitate to forward this blog to them. Also, please feel free to add comments about your take on the psychiatric world.
Hi Danny. It's scary to think how much trust we put into the medical professionals. How we just believe whatever they say because we just assume that they know what's best. I think as a parent, we have to go with our gut feeling as in the end it's us parents who knows what is best for our children. I'm so happy that you and Bev took a stand and did what you knew was the right thing for Jason.
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