Visiting hours are 5-7pm but her psychiatrist told us we could visit any time so that we can be with our family in the evening. That was a huge help. We've been going for a couple of hours every afternoon, and since we don't have a bunch of families there we have gotten to know the staff. We are very pleased with the care Oksana is receiving. The staff has been very sweet and helpful to us. I don't know what your images of a psych ward are but I definitely had my preconceived ideas. I imagined stark white walls and people walking up and down the halls making noises and talking to themselves. In this hospital the walls are painted in calming colors, they have pictures of wildlife on the walls, and it has actually been a peaceful place when I have been there. I know full well that isn't always the case but I'm surprised how "normal" it all feels. The kids there are just like any other kid. Actually the most obviously involved child there is Oksana. She is the one pacing the halls talking to people who aren't there. That was a bit of a surprise to us on our first visit. Even in a psych ward she stands out.
The hospital has also been incredibly accommodating to Oksana's unique needs. Her first night was with a room mate and it did not go so well. By the next night she had her own room so she could sleep in peace. She was struggling to get dressed correctly and do basic skills for herself that the other kids could do with out assistance. That combined with her aggression got her a 1 on 1. I was so thrilled that they did that.
Our first couple of visits were very good. She was still manic on Tuesday and even Wednesday and Thursday they had a hard time keeping her calm. Still, our time with her was spent laughing, playing, and enjoying our time together. It was actually really nice to be the good guy who swoops in to play and have fun and then leaves so she can beat them up. I actually think this has been good for our relationship. I've really enjoyed her because I haven't had to be prepared to be attacked constantly. Thursday they had started to put in some more meds to try to bring her down some so her psych warned me that she might be a bit sedated. Shortly after I got there she fell asleep on my lap and slept for about an hour. The next hour we spent hanging out and talking to her 1 on 1. This morning she had an aggressive episode so they had given her something to calm her before we arrived. Once we got there she was barely awake. We got to say hi and talk a bit and then we took her to her room and she crashed! We decided to stay there thinking that she would wake up in an hour like she did yesterday. After an hour and a half she was still crashed so we considered it a date in the psych ward and headed home!
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| Baby girl zonked out. |
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| If you're on a "date" you need a selfie, right?! |
There are a couple of things that I have discussed with her psychiatrist. One is that she told me to prepare for the fact that Oksana will always be symptomatic. She said that she believes some of what we see is a primal instinct from her trauma history and she can not medicate that away. She also started throwing out the word schizophrenia which I have suspected for a long time but she has never said. We got her set up for some extensive testing at a local hospital that should tell us more. Her psychiatrist said she is very reluctant to diagnose a 9 year old as schizophrenic without some really good evidence and she thinks this testing will be able to give her what she needs.
This is her first hospitalization....it won't be her last. At least now I know the hospital, the system, and the benefits of hospitalization. Honestly we now see that we could have done this a long time ago. We did everything we could to keep her home as long as possible and I don't regret that but it was definitely time for this level of intervention.
2 comments:
I have been thinking of you and so glad this is working out so well for you.
I have been thinking about you daily and praying for your family. Thanks for the update.
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