Lone wolf! A Cry in the Night!

Here I sit in front of my computer screen, wondering has the rantings of a yapping Canadian Mutt Mother made a difference to you?

Lately, I don’t know what to write about. I just know raising a mentally ill daughter who dishes out more abuse then an abusive husband, has finally robbed my energy to fight. The last 5 years of unstable treatment plan, have finally robbed my hope.

I find it crazy that, I 'm living an abusive life, when I swore as a child, I would never live that way again. I choose my husband because I knew he would cherish me, and never raise a violent hand against me or our children. I wasn’t wrong–I have the most supportive, calm, rock solid, loving husband in the world, who is my best friend.

The one that is abusive is the our daughter, who is mentally ill. But these last two months, have shown me, we can no longer support our mentally ill daughter, nor allow her to live with us any longer.

I want all you parents out there to think about this. You have a sick daughter of 20.

Do you turn them away?

Do you live in an abusive situation, because you don’t want your sick child on the street?

Can you turn your back on this sick child?

Well, I have to do just that. I have asked for help from every bureau out there and every service provider. I have asked for legal advice. All systems have failed us. No one hears the cries of a Lone wolf!

So the images that have hunted my nights are the ones we don’t want to read about in the news. The crimes that are senseless with usually 100% PREVENTABLE, if laws, and medical treatment for mentally ill was Pro-Active.

100% Preventable if someone would listen. So my question is has this blog made a difference?

Bark-out-Loud!!! What a Joke BC Liberals Are!!!

BC'S Minister Of Health asked Health authorities to cut 10 % at gross. That is 45 million and where is this trimming to go? Well Minister answered" Other Ministries to prevention of health issues !!!"- But wait Liberals gave increase of 7%…….BUT where did the missing 3% go?? Yes cut -10% , give+ 7% = NO CUTS? Great accounting even grade 1 students can do better. ON the upside for Kevin Falcon, he can enjoy a glass of fine BC wine cheaper!!! HST will make booze cheaper, that is what Kevin call's prevention for Mental Health Addictions. What a joke! This is the Liberal 10 year Health Plan!!

My family racked up expenses from hospital visit and doctor appointments $ 10,000.00 in one year. Times the three years she was unstable and in and out of hospitals. This year our daughter was too sick for employment, but not sick enough to do nothing, her only motivator was interior decorating. There is no grants available for a person with mental illness for schooling. Another $10,000.00 in education and expenses, as the college couldn’t pro-rate the cost of course. Keep in mind this course was an outreach program for her social skills development. Did I get to collect any money on income tax for medical expenses?

I quit my job twice to be 24/7 nurse and support for my daughter, and unemployment has no benefits for this hardship. My husband lost contracts because he couldn’t work weekends. We made these choices for our daughter and focused weekends to her care, so our personal income was too low for deductions. Then CRA tells me to apply for a disability credit because we quality. Three times the Doctor filled out paper work wasn’t enough information for them, so denied. So yes I have made my contribution!

So Honourable Kevin Falcon, when stated “Whatever level of investment being made, the important element here is that individuals can make a difference. Individuals can make a contribution towards a sustainable health care system. I would hope that the public, any of the public that may be watching, will consider that as we go forward”

I was appalled! Kevin Falcon, you definitely didn’t do any research in the cost of a mentally ill child, nor did you investigate into the lack of programming and funds. You didn’t inform yourself as Minister of Health, or even take a personal interest into BC taxpayers, living with a mental illness within their families. May I suggest some reading for the BC Liberal Government, as you haven't read my letters or you would have been informed.

Below article written By Dr Stan Kutcher. Stan is associated with the Canadian Mental Health Commission. http://blog.teenmentalhealth.org/2010/05/21/early-onset-of-mental-disorder-hurts-–-in-your-wallet/

Canadian Mutt Fights For Cubs Mental Health

The BC government has now committed crimes against children. It is inhumane to place children and adults mental wards because the governments have closed children beds in psychiatric wards. There is only 16 beds for children mental health in the interior/Thompson of BC and the Fraser Valley. Now the BC government has closed half off those beds.

At 16 my daughter suffered a major psychotic break. There wasn’t a bed available for her and a children psychiatric ward. She was committed by the BC government under the mental health act and placed in adult ward while we waited for an available bed. During this month wait, she escaped three times. During one of these escapes she was wandering around in a pair of pajamas totally incoherent and unable to perceive the world around her. I’m thankful that she was not abducted and raped– as she excepted a ride from a total stranger in a white car with a blue shirt. When questioned she believed the stranger in a white car and a blue shirt was a police officer. I called the hospital to let know my daughter was at home. I told the hospital that I would be keeping her at home until a bed became available for her in a children unit. The hospital’s reply was, ” you can’t do that she is a ward of the government now!!”.

The government claims that the mental health act adequately protects the mentally ill. If the mentally ill is an endangerment to themselves and others they can be committed. Now considering this, isn’t a person an endangerment to themselves when they live on the streets in freezing temperatures without adequate housing? But yet the government now claims we need Bill 18. Maybe we need Bill 18 because the mental act is not adequate and does not address their needs a mentally ill. Here is another crime against children one third of all homeless people are youth.

Lastly, the leading activist for the mental health, Michael Kirby, calls children mental health, The Forgotten Orphaned Child of mental health. Children mental health is the least funded, the most neglected of all the mental health areas. I feel that Canada should be charged for inhumane, unjust, and neglected care for the mentally ill children of the country. If you are outraged and appalled as much as I am please contact your local MLA , and voice your support for the mentally ill children of our country.

Yappy Mutt Goes Public

I write to you today to bring your attention to some of the serious flaws in Canada’s Health Care regulations which govern the treatment of the mentally ill. I’m currently lobbying government to take immediate steps to make legislate improvements.

My daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 16 and since that time has undergone the process of healing through a structured treatment program. In order for her to heal she must have 12 hours of sleep a night, take her medications, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and regularly see her Councillors and Doctors. Even by following all of her treatments, her road to recovery will take a minimum of 9 years and possibly longer. This means in order to get well my daughter will need to adhere to a structured treatment program until she is at least 25 years old. Any relapse within that time will inevitably lengthen her recovery time.

If early childhood psychosis is properly treated, it is very possible for people who have schizophrenia to lead productive and healthy lives without suffering any mental illness issues. Because of flaws in the current Health system, which accords the same human rights to mentally ill adults as it does to those who are not, now that my daughter is 19 I am no longer able to legally intervene when my daughter refuses or is unable to maintain the structured care that has until now kept her on the road to recovery.

As a 19 year old the law states that my daughter can reject treatment, medications, advice from doctors and councillors and nothing can be done to impose treatment on her until she becomes a danger to herself and/or others. I believe this to be a very serious lapse in the law. It would make eminently more sense to have a legal mechanism in place that allows caregivers the right to impose a mandatory treatment as soon as the obvious signs of mental digression begin to appear, well before they become dangerous.

According to the law my daughter has never been considered well enough to sign a power of attorney which would give me the right to act on her behalf and in her best interest. Given this scenario how can the law then award this very same daughter full right to her own mental care merely because she has turned 19?

The law gives me the right to protect my daughter’s money from predatory exploitation but I don’t have the ability to keep her away from criminal elements that might sell her drugs or give her alcohol, nor can I impose any kind of curfew on her. Medication for the mentally ill does not work if the patient is stressed, does not get enough sleep or if street drugs and alcohol are used. Currently my daughter is under the influence of a well known, 32 year old local drug dealer who tells her that she acts fine and doesn’t need to take medication. He encourages her to drink and even buys alcohol for her. Under the law I have no way to keep her safe from him by putting a restraining order on him even if he is seriously endangering her health – only my impaired thinking daughter can do this. How can it possibly be that protecting her money is more important under the law than protecting her mental health and wellbeing?

My daughter’s councillors, doctors and entire family have all noted that she has regressed by at least 50% from the period prior to her turning 19 when structured care was constant. All agree that she needs help now to keep her from reaching the danger state. The law which gives my daughter the right to decide her own treatment does not in any way recognize my daughter’s inability to understand when she is digressing and needs care. She cannot even tell you what the signs of digression are! Surely preventing her mental health from deteriorating to a dangerous state should have as equal a status under the law as do her human rights.

I have called 26 blue page services and NOT one could help me. Generally the answer has been that because is she is an adult only she can make decisions about her care.

If my daughter was to smoke a joint it has the potential to send her over the edge -ONE JOINT. That is a bomb just waiting to happen. That is my fear. There is often a rage or violent element to mental illness, but in most cases can be avoided and prevented if the patient is properly adhering to their treatment regimen. Believe me I have already been down this road with my daughter.

At the end of the month if my daughter is still deteriorating I will be forced to pressure the doctor to have my daughter committed. It is inevitable that she will be sent to the Penticton Hospital but this is not a hospital that is safe for her! She has already escaped from there three times. She was 16 the first time she was admitted to Penticton Hospital and she thought her father and I had placed her in jail and the nurses were feeding her poison. After one of her escapes she arrived back home barefoot and in her pajamas from a distance that is 45 minutes by car. This is not acceptable!

I know that if my daughter is committed to this hospital again, that it will be a terrifying experience with the capacity to haunt her for rest of her life. She will hate her parents and the caregivers who are trying to help her. How, I ask you, is this helping her to understand and deal with a mental illness she will have for the rest of her life!!!

Have we not seen enough recently of what can happen when the mentally ill are making health care decisions they are truly incapable of making?

* Aug 18, 2009 Grand Forks BC – 42 year old mentally ill woman stabs and kills 12 year old autistic boy. Her Neighbour stated she was withdrawn and not making eye contact. (This is a danger sign for anyone with mental illness and intervention should have occurred long before she reached this state.)
* July 31, 2008
Man decapitated by mentally ill man on Greyhound bus.

I would like to propose the following solutions that you might consider as one who has power to introduce legislation:

1. There needs to be a mechanism under the law to impose mandatory treatment in cases when patients are not adequately addressing their mental state and signs of deterioration are clear.
2. There needs to be a mechanism under the law to allow caregivers to protect the mentally ill from predators who lure them into criminal activity or other behaviour that works at odds with their medical treatment
3. There needs to be an authoritative body that can monitor a mentally ill child, well before they are turned loose at the age of 19, in order to make an assessment of how well they will be able to make mental health decisions on their own. If the patient is deemed to be incapable of maintaining treatments that will prevent mental digression without supervision then the law could provide for a Power of Attorney to be awarded to a responsible parent or other caregiver to ensure that treatment continues unabated as long as required. With periodic reviews the patient’s rights could be carefully balanced against the need for proper and sustained care.
4. Community centres are desperately needed where mentally ill patients can receive treatment in a more home-like environment close to family and friends. Here in Osoyoos the Sage Brush Building, owned by Interior Health would lend itself perfectly to such a facility.

Please help give me the legislative tools I need to help my adult/child seek and obtain the treatment she desperately needs in a facility close to home. All we want is to care for her and support her through this tragic illness that has already robbed her of 3 years of her life. I want to be able to protect my daughter from criminal activity, drinking on the beach and well away from drug users and dealers. I want her safe from predators. She is ill and cannot protect herself from any of these things and it is breaking my family’s heart.

We cannot have any of this for my child, without changes to government polices