And it started so well

 

As we were flying to move from Portland, OR to Pittsburgh, we had a stop over in Atlanta, that for our loved one, turned into a 2 week psychiatric hospital stay. Sunday, Aug 15, my husband and I made the 11 hour drive from Pittsburgh to Atlanta to pick up our loved on Monday morning. 

By 9:45, we were all in the car, ready to make the 11 hour trip back. Things started so well. They were very happy to see us, and full of stories about their husband, their friends they'd originally met in Africa but were in the hospital in Atlanta, and the other fantastical stories. I'm reminded that this state of psychosis is likened to dreaming, bits of reality, aspirations, fears, present, past, and future all muddled together with no logical connections. 

Not sure when things started going south, but they definitely did. They refused to get back in the car at a rest stop in West Virginia in part because I refused to help them hold their male private parts when they pee (they don't have any), and talked non-stop for 12 hours. The talk started chatty enough, but turned rancorous, for no reason apparent to my husband or I.  Several times they threatened to jump out of the car, unbuckling their seatbelt. Meanwhile we were driving through nasty rain, and equally threatening flash flood warnings that followed us through the dark, windey and unfamiliar roads of West Virginia and rural Pennsylvania.  The low point was when our loved one threw a hot piece of pizza at my husband's head as he was navigating all of this treacherous driving. We swerved momentarily, pulled off the highway, tried to get everyone to calm down, and continued on. At that point, we still had nearly 3 hours of dark, rainy driving to go..  

As we got closer to Pittsburgh, the rain stopped, and the worst of the vitriolic chatter had ceased, but it was nearing midnight. We tried to get everyone settled down, as my husband and I headed to that kind of sleep where you're too wired, but know you need to try.  Within an hour, our loved one came in the bedroom and asked for us to come join them in their room, because they saw the boogey man outside.  The fear in their eyes and voice was real.  My husband wonderfully sat on the bed with them for another hour to try to get them to calm down and go to sleep.  Alas, no.  Another hour later, they returned and wanted us to take them to the store. Um, no.  

With earplugs, we finally got a few hours of sleep. They returned to our room at 6:00 promptly to ask if we were getting up and could we get them coffee. I decided to take the morning shift, since my husband had taken the night shift. I made us both a cup of coffee, and then decided we should go out to breakfast to  give my husband a few more hours of sleep. We ate breakfast, picked up some medicine, and returned home.  The whole time, though our loved one remained agitated, and had confused thinking. To be clear, this is not the same as slow, stupid or conniving.  During breakfast, they talked about how they were a "hermaphrodite", and were upset because they were "lactating" (being pregnant in their mind). Their thoughts are confused, and disconnected from my reality, but 100% real to them, not manipulative or slow.   Their agitation this likely due to the underlying illness, new circumstances and no sleep for at least 18 hours.  

I made a call to the local crisis line and asked for resources. Not unlike ERs that are used for primary care, there is a psychiatric hospital in town, and its ER is frequently used for intake for primary care.  We were supposed to get them connected with a local physician this week anyway, so they agreed to go to the ER, to get assessed and then connected with a psychiatrist.  

Their agitation continued, and they started yelling at the hospital.  After several hours, a petition by the hospital staff to the courts, a physical and psychological assessment, they were again admitted to the hospital involuntarily for seven days.  Later this week, there will be a hearing to determine whether they will be required to stay longer.

We got them to Pittsburgh, and within 24 hours of arriving got them connected with top notch, responsive services.  We'll continue to unpack and now have a little breathing room to get their space set up so it's ready upon their release.  

And now, we sleep.