Rural living, Auntie, Demons

I didn't realize it has been so long since I last blogged. March 2023, so 3 years.

My son is still stable and doing pretty well, all things considered. Still smoking pot and drinking on the weekends but med-compliant, managing his own finances and day to day care like laundry, showering etc. I help out with scheduling his blood-work and keeping on top of his prescriptions. 

He moved in with his sister about 3 years ago and about 2 years ago, hubby and I moved there too. So now we all live in the same house.

He did have an issue just over 2 years ago with low blood platelets that is still being monitored. I guess he had an infection and a cold and his body went a bit haywire fighting it all. Couple of blood transfusions and an extended hospital stay... Steroids... He's holding steady, low still but not threatening.

We live pretty rural now (well water and septic) so not much opportunity for him to socialize or be involved in any social programs. The highlight of the week is going grocery shopping on the weekend which by-the-way is a 40 minute drive to get to a sensible grocery store. He gets his snacks and of course his bottle or two. Not ideal but I don't begrudge him this. He's 32 now and he's still here and relatively happy. He has his moments where some negativity comes through after drinking 2 nights in a row... How normal is that? Pretty normal actually for anyone that drinks. Geesh... I just called my mentally ill son, normal! If you have read any of my blog, yes, I can be a bit sarcastic/facetious as I point out things that neurotypicals prefer not to have pointed out. ;)

I don't think I mentioned it in my last post... I do sourdough bread now. It's a love/hate relationship. Love the bread, not so fond of making it lol. But hubby loves it too so it's a relationship that will keep. I make my own beef jerky now too. My son and I are avid fans of it so it's a staple on the weekly grocery list to get a beef roast... Last year I started my own veggie garden for the first time. I've maintained others but never started my own from seeds. Started out really well but the weather last year was pretty bi-polar (gasp, I used this as a verb!)... One week torrential rain and the next week heat wave. My poor garden wasn't happy so I lost a lot but still I did get a good crop of tomatoes and some beans and cucumbers. Haven't made up my mind yet if I'm going to try again this year. Most likely I will, just not so much of it and better prep-work to the soil.

As I have moved, I no longer manage the RV park. Ironically my life seems a lot more hectic and busy but than again living with my 2 adult kids and my 2 grandkids would account for that. I keep myself busy with the grandkids, baking, moderating a sourdough group, knitting and crocheting. Church most Sundays. I play Pokemon Go now and even crochet mods. I go through phases with that and currently in a 'I'm sick of crocheting' phase. But this past winter I crocheted some cute hand-warmers that me and my granddaughter really like. 

Hubby is doing good. He survived the down-time of no work this winter. Barely... :) That man needs to be active to be happy. Almost 70... We are getting old. He's being monitored for swollen prostrate and I guess a spot on his kidneys but overall he's in good shape. Still adores me... Blessed I am to have him.

I have 3 cats. 2 I brought with me when I moved and 1 that was a barn rescue... He was a little spitfire in the beginning. Couldn't get near him. Now, he's the most affectionate cat I have ever met. Lost the top of one of his ears and the tip of his tail to frostbite. Gives him character!

Recently we went to visit some family. Stayed with my older sister and managed to fit in some of my family and some of hubby's family. Hubby hates to fly so it was a 34-35 hour drive each way for 3 days of visiting. My mom was adopted and on this trip I got to meet her bio half-sister for the first time. She's pretty cool, dare I say cute! If you are younger than the word cute may not seem appropriate, even distasteful but as you get older... Hubby thinks I'm cute and for sure it's a term of endearment and a compliment. 

My younger sister, I had not seen in about 14 or so years. Not even sure what to write here... Mental illness and psychosis comes in so many different forms. I knew that there was... I thought that I was prepared... I have seen a lot with my son through breaks and hallucinations. I wasn't prepared for this face. My son had some grandiose delusions with respect to being a god, a vampire... Dealing with demons... Demonic possession was a new face for me. It was a short visit if you can even call it that. Short exchange of words. It wasn't my sister so prolonged exposure on my part wasn't going to accomplish anything.

I don't disbelieve in possession. I don't disbelieve that there is another plain of existence that most don't see. I also believe in mental illness. I can say that perhaps for the first time in my life, I came face to face with the possibility of... She appears to believe that she is possessed and I can't say that she isn't. It may seem odd to read that but I'm also a Believer in God and I believe the Bible so it's not a stretch to believe in demons. Regardless of which... Demonic possession/psychosis sucks! 

It's almost noon here... I'm still in my PJ's and have jerky to put in the dehydrator. 

To those who still follow this... My apologies for taking so long to blog and update that my son is still my son.

© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2026. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Check In March 2023

I can't believe it's been 2 years since my last update...

Hubby is still working. He's liking the company and they seem to be liking him too so all good there.

My son did move into his own apartment. It actually went really well and despite my reservations he maintained stability and didn't wreck the joint. ;) He did give his notice and moved out the end of last month. He went from working 3 days a week to 5 days which in hindsight was too much for him. It's hard to work 10-12 hours a day and be on medications that require a lot of sleep time. The company he worked for moved locations so he was unable to keep going. In between that he hurt his back and knee... Now that was a bit of a shit show...

I'm not usually one to email MPs however I did... My son knee was obviously infected so I took him to the ER. This nicest thing I can say is that was useless. He left there without treatment. Thank goodness for a doctor at a walk-in clinic who did treat him. She also wanted him to go back to the ER... He did not and I can't blame him. Basically 12 hour wait times to even be seen by a doctor.

We have all these plandemic mandates... I'm sure that statement makes it pretty clear where I stand on most of it. Enter the ER and the first thing we get asked is if we are vaccinated. Ok. Didn't ask our names or why we were there. Vaccinated and unvaccinated were treated the same and handed a mask. So why ask? In the 20 minutes that I stayed there and watched about 20 masks get handed out, can you guess how many were actually wearing the mask properly? I'm sorry but they do no good hugging your chin or hanging off your ear. So me who is tired of all the plandemic theatre was one of the few wearing it properly.

Dealing with the system recently has been difficult. The program that he was involved with decided that he was no longer in need. In closing his file that meant he no longer had access to his psychiatrist. That little tidbit was found out when I tried to get through to the psychiatrist to leave a message. The program itself didn't bother to tell my son that he had lost his psychiatrist. That turned into another drawn out scenario of my trying to get the local MLA involved. Not sure it did much good as well privacy laws have and always well be way more important that actually doing anyone any good. The program did send his file off to a doctor in another city that he hasn't dealt with in years without confirming that it was in fact my son's doctor. At this point, thankful that he has a doctor at all as at this point they are getting harder and harder to find. This one says he is capable of overseeing the clozapine requirements and writing prescriptions so that is a win win for now.

I've been keeping busy. Pretty busy actually. About a year and half ago, I became the manager of the park that I live in. Most days are good. Some days... Let's just say that I have learned way more than I ever thought that I would about pumps, plumbing, electrical, by-laws and whatever else. Physically I'm probably healthier than even have been. I do a lot of walking and landscaping. I have an ongoing war with blackberry bushes. I have every intention of winning! So looking forward to nicer weather again.

Snow! Like most, I'm totally done with it! I'm sure some are still loving it... Time to let it go until next year! Global warming my ass!

As for what has been happening in the world this last couple of years... I cannot fathom most of it most days. It has opened my eyes to a lot. So yeah, now I'm one those anti-vax, racist, non-conforming Canadians that love my country and is ashamed of it's government. The upside... I'm healthy. Not afraid of... I won't say much else. If this gets censored like my Facebook, I'd be risking losing my blog.

The grandkids are growing and are doing great. I love hearing my granddaughter call me grammie or gammie. They along with their parental figures are most likely moving to Alberta. Can't say I blame them. Yes, I also support Smith! She rocks! I will follow when Yehovah (God) gives me the green light to go too.

Until next time...

© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2023. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Check in Feb 2021

Almost another year gone... wow.

Not much has changed here. 

It was my son's birthday last month so he's been struggling a bit with his drinking. Meaning drinking too much. A family member gave him all the ingredients for his favorite drink so he went a little overboard with it. As usual it causes some conflict between hubby and I. Not much I can do about that one either.

My son went down 25 mg of Clozapine with his psychiatrists approval and my support. It's my son's goal to go down from 400 mg to 200 mg. Currently at 375 mg. His psychiatrist is being extremely cautious with how often and how much he will decrease which is a good thing. While my son isn't overly happy about it, he is continuing to be med-compliant. I think it's been about 5-6 months since the decrease and I haven't noticed any changes in my son because of it.

I'm grateful that he understands that he needs them, even if only in the context of helping him with his anxiety. I make it clear if he wants to continue to drink and smoke weed then he needs the medications so that he doesn't lose all that he has gained and end up back in the hospital. He in no way, wants to go back to living like that and very much enjoys being able to spend money like he does, so it's good motivation. I was very surprised to hear him the other day telling someone that they didn't need to worry because his pills protect him from schizophrenia. 

He's still working 3 days a week and enjoying it.

He actually took himself to work today for the first time in a long time. Usually my hubby takes him however hubby started his own job last week so he can only take my son on Sat. and Sun. now. 

I guess about a year ago my son bought an electric scooter. Had some issues with it and decided to sell it. Then he bought an E-bike... Decided he wanted a scooter again. So we sold the E-bike and used that money to get another scooter. This time was better as he had more reasonable expectations on what the scooter can and can't do. 

My son still struggles with wanting things, now... However I can't say that is a trait only belonging to someone diagnosed with mental illness. He is getting better at having, a little, patience. Sometimes if I can put off him getting what he is asking for then within a couple of days he will have changed his mind on wanting it. There has been several things over the past 2 months. A new PSP, contact lenses, glasses... His need for instant gratification may never go away as it doesn't in a lot of non-diagnosed as well. Due to the pandemic, some of these things are just going to have to wait, like contact lenses, as the services are not easily available in a way that he can deal with.

Back to my day... Just wanted to touch base and let everyone know that all is good. 

© BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey, 2014 - 2021. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blogs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Links to blog posts and/or pages as a whole (in there entirety) may be used provided that full and clear credit is given to BarbieBF and Schizophrenia - Mom's Journey with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.