tales from tardslyvania

[Scott]

little break here as I have had a busy week so I will stop by and post some stories for you guys.
If anyone has read my profile you will know I am an habilitation and vocational specialist for the Department of Human Services through a sub agency of the Developmental disabled service division,what does that do you ask? well in simple terms I work with the mentally challenged and teach them everyday living routines,I am mom and dad,coach,teacher,friend,advocate,nurse, therapist and enforcement all rolled into one.

things can go from the normal to the surreal in a day or even in the span of a few hours and I am johnny on the spot during those times,this can be a stressful job and a rewarding job.I went into this field from being in retail management for 14 years.Retail was unrewarding and spiritually crushing so I thought I would take a pay cut and try something for myself and well 4 years later ....

the Full Moon effect
this week was an extremely challenging one so to grasp the scale of a simple piece of paper I will start at the beginning of the week.

Sunday night
this night proved to be a the trigger of events.9:40p I get a phone call for a residential facility that houses two of my consumers(that's what we call our patients).the Facility manager is telling me to get over there and handle one of my guys who is in the downstairs hall yelling and making threats to murder both the house mother and facility manager.

God this isn't what i wanted to do tonight but like Batman to the scene of the crime I jump in my blue 91 Taurus and head the 2 miles over the the residential facility mentally preparing to do battle with a combative MR who is agitated.

When I arrive the consumer who is causing the problems has returned to his apartment,I get a statement from the house mother to gauge just how agitated my consumer is and it doesn't sound good.Up I go to his apartment,and yes he is highly agitated but in bed hah,I enter his residence and am greeted by screaming and apologize for such a late entry but explain why I am there and get his side of the story which makes no since,he didn't want hot dogs for dinner.

having heard his side I calm him down ,check his meds to see if he had taken his medicine for the evening,he did thankfully or there might have been some battery to add to my reports.everything seems ok now and at 1am I leave to go home for a few hours of sleep since I have to be back here at 7:30a.

Monday
back at the residential facility it's 7:30ish and I go over to the other consumers house I have there,I will now refer to the two as good Kirk and evil Kirk
I am at good Kirks this mornings and was at evil Kirks last night.
Good Kirk is acting strangely as if he has done something,normally he would be all smiles and as normal as you or I but today he is forgetting simple things like how to turn on tv and needs guidance in everything,this is behavior he exhibits when he has done something and usually takes about a week to figure out what has transpired.

I asses the situation and determine no need for extra attention so I go over to evil Kirks and am greeted again by yelling ,still agitated and he yells at me to apologize about coming over last night/this morning and denies staffing for the day,I shrug and tell him it is his right to chose that and go back to good Kirks to file report number 2 for the day on him,this one is over aggression and denial of staffing.

I leave the facility around one praying to God that the rest of the day remain peaceful,it doesn't. 8:30p I get a call from the facility and evil Kirk is yelling in th upper halls this time.Back over I go.as I arrive and enter all seems calm but there is now an atmosphere of fear in the lower halls so think you can feel it in the air.

I go up stairs and am again greeted by an agitated and yelling evil Kirk,Scotty better get those transporters working again soon.He is on about something but I can't tell what as his speech is garbled and disconnected,something old something blue?<--foreshadowing here.
I weave my spell of redirecting words and calm the situation ,write up report number 3 and head back home around 930p.hopefully I can sleep tonight.

Tuesday
Good Kirks residence.
Good kirk is still exhibiting out of character behavior,forgetfullness and what not but nothing concerning,he has done something that much is certain.since there is no need for concern routine proceeds as normal and I take good Kirk to work at noon.
around 3:50p I get a call from good Kirks place of employment.Good Kirk is whacked out and can't remember how to do his job and they suspect he has taken too many meds,but wait good Kirk take no meds.
I arrive on scene to find good Kirk waiting for me,he is wired like bad Chinese electronics,clearly has had too much caffeine but told his employers he had taken too much flexeril.note that flexeril was a muscle relaxer that good Kirk had been adminstered for 3 days due to a muscle injury ...a month ago and I personally administered the dosages and disposal of the meds once I discontinued Good Kirks rounds.he was recalling that and going from that time frame and connecting it with this incident as he was asked what medicine he had taken.

I take good Kirk home and call him off work for a day to be safe just incase he has had some type of seizure I am not familiar with but I know it's the coffee.
I bail around 2ish and no sooner had i arrived back home than the phone rings,its the facility again this time it's good Kirk wandering downstairs talking about hearing voices calling him,no he isn't crazy and doesn't hear voices.this is an attention ploy good Kirk does when his attention needs aren't being met and when he has done something and is trying to cover it by acting "sick".Mind you good Kirk just watched an episode of Star Trek TNG and that episode involved counselor Troi hearing voices,see where my L337 detective skills are coming into play?
I explain this to the facility manager and tell her there is no need for concern and tell her to have good Kirk return to his apartment and not to worry and call me incase there is an explosion.

[Scott]

Wednesday
and hell followed him but at a slow limping pace
over at the facility again Good kirk is chillin and watching Star Trek no problems as I leave him after domestic routines were done (I had him clean house and do laundry and cook lunch for himself)
At evil Kirks now and he seems docile today and looking forward to bowling on thursday.Evil Kirk does exhibit some agitation paper and something blue hmm
I leave and go home hoping for a regular night where I don't get called and have to rush out again,it's about 830 and I have taken a valum ,smoked a joint and am watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle with my girlfriend ,I haven't seen this movie since I don't watch TV and it's pretty entertaining when the phone rings.

Evil Kirk is rampaging through the downstairs kicking doors and yelling threats of murder and paper,he is going to kill someone and I can hear him over the phone,the police are on the way,shit.
I am riding with Prince Valum and mary Jane as my copilots as I drive over.Not only do I have to deal with an agitated consumer but the police also and I am baked more than an apple pie.I arrive on scene with the police and explain to them evil Kirks condition and the advice me to stay down stairs,not a problem as I don't feel like getting hit or bit tonight.they go up and are there maybe 10 minutes before they return downstairs.The lead officer tells me they have him verbally confined but he is extremely agitated about something from last week(saturday night) and it's my turn to go visit.Evil Kirk is terrified,guess the police put the fear of God in him,he told me that the house mother was mean and forced him to stay in his apartment and is focusing on her as the bad guy,redirection of blame here.
I have him take his meds and have him call his sister which will calm him down,I go to good Kirks,who is at church,so I can write reports without disturbing the fragile peace we have right now.

I start writing my report and decide I need a smoke before I write my report,I have been there and hour and a half by this time and I need a fucking smoke now!! I walk out and meet evil Kirks mother entering,I explain to her what is going on,she looks as frazzled as myself.she goes in and evil Kirk is out of it,he has had a seizure and passed out.I check his vitals and and tell her let him sleep.

Finishing my smoke now I return to write my reports only to meet good Kirk returning from church and he is curious about what is going on,I explain to him what transpired and he says to me
"yeah he has been mad since he lost that piece of paper"
piece of paper? what piece of paper I asked and was told it was his dads phone number,this was written on a blue post it note that has been on evil Kirks phone table for a month,holy shit this is the trigger.
I immediatly went back to Evil Kirks and looked on the table and sure enoughh it is gone,I tell his mother what i suspect has set off four days of violent behavior in evil Kirk and have her rewrite the phone numbers and replace them on the table.this is it the smoking gun and wait.....

Good Kirk has been acting like he did something all week remember? well I strongly suspect Good Kirk took evil Kirks phone number and trashed it because he wasn't gettinmg his attention needs filled sinc evil Kirk is his brother and thier mother spent alot of time there on Saturday.

its now Saturday and I have had two days of silence and no phone calls,my Sherlock Holmes skills having paid off apparently but the problem has compounded itself since evil Kirks behaviour has now put his residence is question with threat of eviction but the facility management is holding off a decision until after Tuesday when we get evil Kirk into the nearest psych facility to be evaluated.
this was my week hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed participating in it
next week I get to hang with the white coats over at Rolling Hills and I am crossing my fingers over the eviction as Evil Kirk has nowhere to go but a psych ward or the streets.

[TheShoe]

Haha.. I think I'm gonna start callin you the tard whisperer. Sounds like a challenging job.

[Fused88]

I have a question for you Scott. Do you think it would be better if they were euthanized instead of stuck in those buildings being taken care of with tax payer money while not actually helping anything. Ya know just sorta taking up space and money.....



Because Id like my money back, I don't even consider them worth compassion.

[captain action]

You sir are a saint. My solution would to tell evil kirk what his brother did and put the two in a closet for 10 minutes. Jesus, I won't drive the fucking SPED (aka short) bus at the bus barn for a DAMN good reason.

As for Fused, just remember that one day you too will be a "burden". Would you want to be euthanize then? That's a very dark and slippery slope.

[Fused88]

Originally Posted by captain action

You sir are a saint. My solution would to tell evil kirk what his brother did and put the two in a closet for 10 minutes. Jesus, I won't drive the fucking SPED (aka short) bus at the bus barn for a DAMN good reason.

As for Fused, just remember that one day you too will be a "burden". Would you want to be euthanize then? That's a very dark and slippery slope.

Already took care of it in my will. I wont be a burden on society.

[Ramirez777]

Well, I honestly don't have much knowledge in regards to the condition your patient Kirk is in, but I think he would probably be better off in a psych ward. Although, I do commend your efforts in trying to keep him in better mental shape.

I definately don't agree with Fused88, as I feel that putting down a person due to some mental discrepancy is wrong. Unless ofcourse they have commited murder, in which case, hang em'; as they are a danger to society.

*Edited due to new insight; "Don't hang them if they are that black guy from the green mile, as that movie rocked, and I liked him. : )"

[Scott]

Dig this fellas,wisdom is to be passed.
regardless of home much of a dust up evil Kirk would make,aside from murdering someone Evil Kirk would not go to jail.If he did carry through with his murderous threats,and he tried on me once,he still would not go to jail,a nice medicated vacation to a state facility is in order.

Evil Kirk is a consistent topic of concerned discussion around the office,believe me a state facility and a reclassification are in need with this guy,and all the staff are in agreement on this.Evil Kirk is my ticket to a program coordinator or case manager sometime in the future.How I approach this guy and handle the situation is already a focus of Adult protective services,I can not let this guy ,no matter how uncontrollable,fall through the cracks like the Developmental Disability Service Division wants to let happen.There is no funding for even a team meeting let alone a reclassification,fuck no that would mean diverting funds from some fat fucks salary,let alone approval from State itself.

My patience is strong a long lasting,the only thing I am afraid will happen is my health will give out on me and I wont be able to get this guy where he needs to be before my time is up and he will slip through the cracks and someone will pay with their life.

[Fused88]

Originally Posted by Ramirez777

Well, I honestly don't have much knowledge in regards to the condition your patient Kirk is in, but I think he would probably be better off in a psych ward. Although, I do commend your efforts in trying to keep him in better mental shape.

I definately don't agree with Fused88, as I feel that putting down a person due to some mental discrepancy is wrong. Unless ofcourse they have commited murder, in which case, hang em'; as they are a danger to society.

*Edited due to new insight; "Don't hang them if they are that black guy from the green mile, as that movie rocked, and I liked him. : )"

You sir are a sillybilly, and why didn't you answer my question Scott?

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Fused88

You sir are a sillybilly, and why didn't you answer my question Scott?

I think I did.
I feel everyone is entitled to a chance at living,just because it's different from the way you live.believe me these boys are no burden as they both work at specialized jobs and earn their keep and are no more a burden on society than you or I.
if being a burden is case for euthanasia then wouldn't that be a criteria to go in a kill anyone who receives welfare or disability?would you euthanize a fireman who was crippled on the job after saving someones life or a soldier who came back from war all fucked up?