Thursday, April 15, 2010

A Decision

This evening I made a difficult decision. I'm pulling Daughter out of the workshop. I recently went back and reread some of my first posts here, and it made me aware of how much she has regressed. Sister pointed out a couple of months ago that it has been forever since Daughter was really stable for more than a week or two. My decision was confirmed when Daughter, after protesting for a bit, agreed that it was the right thing to do. I suspect that there are lots of triggers there for her PTSD.
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Since I can't leave her home alone and I can't do all the things I need to do in ministry with her with me, I'm going to see about enrolling her in the adult daycare center in town. I'm sure it will be expensive, not only financially but also in terms of my time. It's almost 12 miles to get there, so it will take about 90 minutes out of my day. My plan right now is to take her there on Wednesday and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm in the office. We can put her to work folding bulletins and such, and I can spend those afternoons on sermons and other office work. Wednesdays and Fridays will become the days I schedule pastoral care over a meal and most visits.
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For visits that have to be made on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Daughter will wait in the car or in lobbies. She's done it before. I will call tomorrow to see what I have to do to get her enrolled in the adult daycare center. I'm sure there will be lots of forms and probably some doctor visits. I'm not looking forward to the complications this will bring to my schedule, but if it makes evenings more pleasant, it will be worth it.

2 comments:

maeve said...

Oh my goodness, this is a big decision. There is no question that this workshop is a trigger for her -- it is so badly supervised. It's too bad that you don't have other options. Your DD is a lot like my Miss M, who came home from residential treatment and lived in an apartment that had a day program. She had too much freedom and it didn't work for her, but there were options. Oh, nevermind, as I look back it didn't work at all, and I live near a big city. There are just not good options for these young adults who are on the edge.

Reverend Mom said...

I'm hearing all kinds of things now that she knows she's leaving. She's doing her work and singing. It's going to be hard, but it's the right decision. If this doesn't work, I'll send her to you....