Tag Archives: schizophrenia
Update on Robin
Sorry to keep this short and sweet, but to be honest, these seizures are killing me. Robin is doing better. She was hoping to come home tonight but she was pretty sick last night, so her doctor thought it best to stay through the weekend. Unless anything serious comes up, she should be coming home on Monday.
They needed to lower her Lithium, which helped, so that’s a good thing! Anytime they can lower something to stabilize her is great, because she’s at the safe maximum dosages of everything. The doctor really doesn’t want to dope her up any more than necessary to keep her comfortable.
They also found that her blood was low in potassium, so they’re giving her something to help that. Low potassium can certainly cause confusion, etc.
I worry that nerves could be contributing, like from the stress of taking care of me. I certainly deal with a lot of stress watching over her, as well, just as anyone who cares for a loved one with some sort of special needs. It comes with the territory. I just hope it doesn’t end up being too much for her.
To help with that, my mother has made arrangements so she’ll be able to come over much more often through the week, even if it’s to help with the housecleaning and whatnot. It will be wonderful having her around more.
Robin to the hospital… take two
I apologize for the back-and-forth, but we were able to reach Robin’s doctor today and he secured her a room. No visit to the ER first and all that red tape. All she has to do is show up and they’ll get her settled in.
She went with us to Columbia to see my neurologist and had a really rough time with her hallucinations. And I had a ton of seizures so right now, I feel like someone tossed me in a UFC ring while drunk. My doctor sent for some more tests. He’s glad to see that my cataplectic spells don’t last as long, but he’s struggling to fight the spasms. He’s trying, though.
I’m home now and Mom is getting Robin ready to go.
Again, thanks for all the well wishes. They’re very much appreciated.
Robin is going to the hospital
UPDATE: She’s home! See full update at the bottom:
I’ve been extremely proud of Robin. She used to need a stay at the hospital at least a few times a year (usually during big changes in season), but she’s managed to do okay for about a year and a half. Well, she’s been having a terrible time of it lately, and the voices are getting too noisy for her. She was asking to go to the hospital and I don’t want her to suffer just to keep her home. It takes so long to get registered and settled in, that it’s probably best to go in on Sunday evening. Then she’s there and all set for her doctor to see her in the morning.
It’s probably just a matter of adjusting her meds. It’s a necessary evil that keeps her stable. This is the first time since all my problems came on that I’ve had to be without her, though.
I’m always an emotional wreck when she’s away. I know she’s being taken care of, but you don’t spend 24/7 with the person you love and not get worried sick when they’re gone. I’m predicting that the stress of it will mean tons of extra spells/seizures for me, and I’ll be home alone. It can’t be avoided, though. I’ll simply do as little as possible while she’s away, which will probably last about a week, maybe a week and a half. I have video games, music, movies, the laptop and all my friends here… I can stay busy.
My mother came by to take Robin, and I wasn’t in good shape to go along. Then Mom is coming by early in the morning to take me to my neurologist appointment. That’s a good 3 hours away so it will be an all-day thing. We’re definitely keeping my mother busy. She is so full of awesome! She has to take care of an elderly gentleman who lives a half hour away, so there’s that when she’s not running around for us. She is just amazing.
Anyway, just calling for some cheerleaders to keep Robin in their thoughts while she gets through this. And if my online behavior is weird, you’ll know why. Thanks!
UPDATE: I was having a rough time getting to sleep, so I was still awake in bed when Robin and Mom arrived home. They said the hospital was full – no rooms at all. Apparently, the clinic in Hannibal, MO closed down and Quincy caught the overflow.
Once she was home, I slept like a baby, and we’ll just get with her doctor as soon as we can this week. For now, I have to get ready to go to Columbia for my doc. Thanks, everyone for their good wishes!
eBook Review: Blight by Rich Ristow
One of the best things I love about Rich Ristow‘s writing is how he can develop such deep, real characters in a short piece of writing. The people he creates linger with you long after you’ve finished reading, and it’s why I can’t recommend his work enough.
In his novelette, Blight, we follow Floyd as his world quickly disintegrates before his eyes. He’s a schizophrenic who, like many, is forced to choose food over medication. A ruthless financial institution is driving him out of his home, and the anguish over this is heavily symbolized in his hallucinations that grow worse each day without meds.
Rich takes the reader flawlessly from reality to Floyd’s suffering mind and back again, until the lines are eventually so blurred that’s it’s difficult to tell anymore. The result is strong sympathy for Floyd as things spiral out of control, with a satisfying ending that I won’t give away.
Is the ebook flawed? Sure. There are a good share of typos. In his defense, I’d read a rough copy, but I did see in the online store samples that it could still use some editing. However, don’t let this deter you. While such errors will normally knock me right out of a story, they add to the charm of this one. It’s difficult to explain but they helped me get into the story’s distorted world that much more. So perhaps there was something intentional going on here because the talent flows strong throughout despite any issues that I could point out.
This is one of Rich’s stories set in Monmouthside Heights, a fictional town on the East Coast, and I look forward to seeing more from this world.
You can pick up Blight at Amazon Kindle HERE or at Smashwords HERE.
And for some added fun, check out the Blight soundtrack HERE.
Gonna be a long, long night
This morning, Robin accidentally took her night time meds instead of her 8am meds. These were the ones that knock her out, but still very important for other things.
Since she needed her 8am meds and they were totally different, she went ahead and took those, but this means she took her night pills over 12 hours early, and since it would be dangerous for her to double up on them within 24 hours, she can’t take more until tomorrow night.
This means that she slept most of the day, off and on, and now the episodes are starting. They’ll most likely continue until about this time tomorrow night when it should be safe to give her the night pills (Seroquel and Trazadone).
Gonna be fun. She’s already putting on her shoes and saying she’ll be out in the car, ready to go. Go where? She doesn’t know. But I’ll be keeping close watch over her – closer than usual.
