If This Is an Emergency, Dial Zero

Daughter called me today, sobbing. The voices were too bad, she just couldn't possibly stay at the workshop. I gave her my standard pep talk about having confidence in her and knowing she could make it through the day. She protested. She couldn't tell them to get out of her head, and she went on with a grand story of suffering. I suspected she was manipulating, but it is so hard to tell with her. I asked if she'd talked to Case Manager. She didn't know if Case Manager was there, and Case Manager wouldn't understand. I told her to call me in 30 minutes, and I hung up and called the workshop, putting in Case Manager's extension. I got her voice mail. The end of the message said, "If this is an emergency, dial zero." So I dialed zero.

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A pleasant woman answered. I identified myself and asked if Case Manager was in today. She put me on hold. She came back and asked who Case Manager was, a teacher? someone in early intervention? I told her she was a Case Manager in adult services. She put me on hold again. She came back and asked me her name. I told her. She put me on hold again. She offered to transfer me to her voice mail. I told her I'd already had her voice mail, and I needed to talk to somebody. I told her I didn't want to leave a message on her voice mail, my daughter said she was hearing voices and I needed someone to assess the situation now! She thanked me for explaining the situation and put me on hold again. She came back and told me to call back and leave a message on Case Manager's voicemail. I said, "I don't want to talk to voice mail, I need to talk to a person and I need to talk to someone now!" She transferred me to the adult services receptionist.

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I identified myself again and told her that if Case Manager wasn't available, I needed to talk to one of three other individuals. She had Case Manager on the phone in 10 seconds. I explained the situation to Case Manager. She went out and found Daughter. Daughter called me at the appointed time sounding quite chipper. Case Manager called after she'd put Daughter to work. It seems Daughter has been refusing work all week, and sitting around worrying about things. Case Manager had told her some of the same things I tell her. (Daughter accused her of having gotten her ideas from me.)

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If Daughter wants to be miserable, there's nothing I can say or do to keep her from being miserable. Her choice to be miserable, however, does not mean I have to disrupt my day to go tend to her. I had a productive day. Daughter made it through the rest of the day without calling me. I'm grateful for Case Manager, and amazed at how they handle "emergency calls." I may have to tell Case Manager about my experience.