Friday, February 27, 2009

A Loaded Gun

I packed up my computer and went to town for lunch at Taco Bell today. I finished my sermon (early for me), and then headed over to the nursing home. When I stopped in to see to of our men, DJ was sleeping. I sat down to speak to L, who told me that DJ had received bad news about his son that day. His son was not doing well following brain surgery.
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I went over and talked to DJ, and I expressed my concern for him and his son. As we were talking, my cell phone rang. It was Daughter. Her blood sugar was low, and I was going to have to come get her. I told her I'd be there as soon as I finished at the nursing home. I started to pray with DJ, and the phone rang again. It was Sister, so I ignored the call. As I headed to visit the married couple we have there, I called Sister. She was at the doctor's office with Dad. He's dehydrated and his potassium is sky high. The doctor told her that the good news is that the pacemaker will keep his heart from stopping. Since he has a live-in, he decided not to admit him to the hospital.
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I picked up Daughter, who was continuing to drop, even after much treatment. I asked her if she had taken extra insulin. She told me she hadn't. I told her I wanted to believe her. I asked to see her insulin pen. She started it Tuesday night, and she should have used about 50 units since then. Over 150 units were gone. She finally admitted she had taken a massive amount of insulin at 12:50. I called the diabetes doctor, and then the psychiatrist's office. I ended up taking her over to Big City to be admitted. She's in the medical hospital tonight, and tomorrow will be transferred (I hope) to the psych hospital. They gave her sugar by IV. Even with that she wasn't going high. She told me she did it because she was stressed, and she wanted to die. I told her all she had done was create more stress.
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When we got her up to her room, they had someone to sit with her tonight so she doesn't try anything else. Unfortunately, the sitter is a young black man. I explained her PTSD, and told him that if she woke up agitated or disturbed, to step out and get a woman to step in. I told him it wasn't anything personal, but he needed to be aware of her history.
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When Daughter was diagnosed with diabetes in July of 2000, I expressed the concern that a self-destructive child had just been handed a loaded gun. Today, she used the gun. Fortunately, she is going to survive this one. Next time she might not be so lucky.
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When I got home, there were five messages on my machine. Never a good sign. DJ's son died at 5:15 this evening. They have asked me to do the funeral, which will be Tuesday morning. He was not a member of the church, but his church is currently between pastors. I knew him. I called his wife and told her it would be an honor to do the service for them. I'm going to meet with the family Sunday afternoon.
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I'm grateful my sermon for Sunday is already done. I'm grateful that I have friends who are supporting me with prayer. I'm grateful I figured out what Daughter had done before it was too late.

8 comments:

Torina said...

Wow. I am so glad you figured it out and she is getting the help she needs. How are you doing? That sounds like a terribly stressful day!

Reverend Mom said...

I'm tired. I feel like I've been tired forever....

Kari said...

I am so thankful that my daughter who has type 1 diabetes does not have significant mental health issues as well.

You are tired because you are dealing with a tremendous amount of stress right now, all while caring for so many people. I will keep you in prayer but I wish there was something "hands on" that I could do for you, too. ~Kari

Reverend Mom said...

Kari,
Never underestimate the power of your prayers and the difference they make in my abilitiy to keep going. All insulin and medications are now going to be kept under lock and key. My life has become more complicated. When Daughter was diagnosed with diabetes, she said, "This is one more thing that makes me different. It's not fair." She's right.

maeve said...

I'm trying to post, but probably won't succeed. Good that Lena is getting help but bad that you have so many things going on at the same time. I'm thinking about you every day, probably every hour.

maeve said...

Oh, my goodness, I figured it out. So, if you need to go to your dad and need someone to make sense of what's going on with Lena, I can do that. I'm not that far away. Let me know if I can help.

Linda B said...

I can't believe the amount of stress you are dealing with now. Who takes of you? My goodness, I hope you are able to sleep when you go to bed. I wish I could help you out somehow. I am continuing to pray for you.

Reverend Mom said...

Maeve,
Congratulations! I knew you could figure it out. Thanks. My sister and brother can take care of Dad. We'll manage.

Linda,
Your prayers and words of encouragement mean a great deal. Thanks.