Monday, August 12, 2019

Looping

What's it like to have a 2nd child of mine attempt suicide? I don't believe there are words for it. I've spent hours wondering where to go from here. In the hospital, they try to make you feel like there's only one path and it's to hospitalize your child. I knew it wasn't right with the first child. 3 years later, taking her home was clearly was the right choice. This time I considered the inpatient option and they tried to get me signed up right away. I asked a lot of questions before I could agree and I found out they only let you see or talk to your child for 1 hour a day. That and a thorough discussion with my kid made me decide I didn't want to do it and then everybody at the hospital who seemed so friendly suddenly treats you differently and tries to "talk you into it" aggressively. I understand that it doesn't look like I can keep my child (or children) safe but I know them. They might not be okay but putting them into that environment would intensify, not solve their problems.
My heart aches for my kids. When will I know that they will be okay? One child got to a healthy place, said she was happy and now forgets to take her meds all the time and doesn't feel very good. If her having a glimpse of feeling good wasn't enough to keep her working hard to hold onto it, what can I do to motivate her to stay on her meds, especially when she lives out on her own? With my next child, he has dealt with intense physical issues for a couple of years and nobody can tell him what's wrong or help him feel physically better and I understand that he feels like it's a lot to handle. He's a master of telling us that he's hanging in there and leaving no signs that he's in crisis and then surprising us with thoughts & attempts of suicide. I don't believe he wants to die. I do strongly believe he'd like to witness an end to his pain and I don't know how to end it. I don't know how to be the right parent for the job and I wish I could be more, do more. I only know that my heart and soul and every moment I can give to these kids is what I will contribute in search of something better for them. I hope it's enough.

1 comment:

jimi said...

Very touching on a difficult subject. Wish I could be more helpful. You have my support.