Pardon the Interruption

"I took my love, and I took it down. I climbed a mountain, and I turned around. And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills 'til the landslide brought me down...Well, I've been afraid of changing 'cause I've built my life around you. But time makes you bolder; children get older. I'm getting older, too."-Stevie Nicks, "Landslide"

Regular readers of One Autism Mom's Notes may have noticed that I missed a week of my faithful Sunday and Wednesday postings last week. In fact, one of my good friends, who knows my responsible nature, immediately e-mailed me, knowing that something was wrong when I didn't publish updated posts. Something was wrong. Last Sunday, we had Alex admitted as an in-patient to the Behavioral Medicine Department of a nearby hospital. After about six months of unpredictable behavior, apparently caused by severe anxiety, he had become so agitated and aggressive that Ed and I felt he needed round-the-clock trained psychiatric care to monitor his medications. Thankfully, we were able to find an excellent hospital a little over a half hour away from our home.

While this decision was obviously heart-wrenching for us, we have been extremely pleased with the facilities and staff where he is staying and receiving wonderful care. Basically, they are taking him off the three medications he had been taking and putting him on three new ones. Withdrawal from the old medications will take some time, as will finding the right combinations and correct dosages of new ones. Needless to say, my brain has been overwhelmed dealing with these concerns. Moreover, we've spent a great deal of time regularly consulting with the staff and making daily trips to visit him. Consequently, I haven't found the time to write the blog.

As we go through this situation, I have been taking notes and will relate our experiences in future blog entries in hopes that others can benefit from what we have learned. For example, we've discovered what a medical power of attorney document is and why parents of children over 18 with autism should have one in place before one might be needed. Once I wrap my brain around all the new information we've gained this past week, I will have many topics for future blog entries. In the meantime, I hope readers understand and will be patient with me until I'm ready to write the regular Wednesday and Sunday entries. We have much work ahead of us, and I'll have many things to share.

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13