I just got back from a bar in the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh: Le Mardis Gras, aka The Mardi Gras; if one isn't feeling quite as French :-) It has been a very long day, and I truly felt the need for some refreshment by the end of the afternoon. The bar is the perfect place to go after making sure your mother-in-law is safely placed in the mental health wing of the hospital. Follow me below:
My mother-in-law currently lives in assisted living. She has a history of manic-depression. About 4 years ago, she totally went manic and began hallucinating and having extreme paranoia. My husband had to admit her to Western Psychiatric (A psychiatric hospital that is part of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) against her will. It was not pretty, but it had to be done; as she was threatening to kill herself. Thankfully, some very good doctors were able to find medications that were useful to bring her back to us and to herself. She was subsequently moved from her own home to assisted living and has done very well.
Unfortunately, her regular doctor decided to take her off her mental health medication 6 months ago; much to our dismay and to the dismay of the wonderful staff who care very much for her. His explanation, which partly made sense, was that the medication was affecting her overall health adversely. When asked to supply a new medication that would help with her mental health, he refused.
So, we come to the past couple of weeks where Mom-in-law's behaviors have become more and more bizarre. She lasted for a while without meds, but she finally snapped, as we feared she would do. MIL walked down the hallway with her shirt unbuttoned, called many of us (at least 4 of us that I know of) at least 20 times yesterday, and began using swear words worthy of the saltiest of sailors. She began hallucinating that the man upstairs was deliberately making her life miserable by squeaking his walker, and that the ghosts of her sisters-in-law were telling the lady next to her to spy on her.
The assisted living staff decided enough was enough this morning when my MIL decided that the easiest way to die would be to use a razor to cut her veins. They called the ambulance, and Hubby and I met her at the hospital. We kept her company in the emergency room and as she was transported to her regular hospital room. She was diffuse and confused. She talked about her real childhood horrors and imagined horrors of the assisted living place. She talked about sex and ghosts and her hatred of her father. She talked and talked.
When Hubby and I knew she was safely in her permanent room, we talked with the nursing staff and decided to visit our favorite bar to talk and to mellow out for a bit. We have only just now returned home.
This is an open thread. Do you have a favorite bar that you visit to talk about the things of life? Do you go to bars to celebrate or commiserate, or both? I am hoping and praying that my Mother-in-law will become mentally healthy again. I am hoping the psychiatrist is able to overrule her regular doctor to prescribe medication that will stabilize her mental health, so she is able to live life more fully and without fear.