Checking In: Let us know how you're doing

Oh no @Shaz51 !! What is he ill with (if you don't mind me asking) ??

You were feeling unwell too ..... are you okay ?

Big hugs ❤️❣❤️

Hi @Faith-and-Hope xx

some kind of nasty bug , he had needles, on the drip, blood taken , lots of medication

I am ok, just feeling tired

Make sure you are taking care of you @Shaz51 whike hospital is taking care of hubby.

❤️

hi @Faith-and-Hope, xx

stayed at my mums which lives across from the hospital helping her -- she has 2 very sore , swollen feet xx

The hospital just rang to say that he can go home now , he can rest for a few more days at home , so off i go again

Lot of flu around this year @Shaz51.

I have succumbed even though I had a flu shot. You have my wishes for a quick recovery.

Hi @Shaz51, how are you? How's hubby? Hope he is on the mend, and the you are looking after you too.

Good idea on getting the flu shot @Former-Member. I haven't gotten mine. For no other reason that I haven't had the flu for five years until this year. Wishing I had now...

thank you @CherryBomb and @Former-Member

my hubby is recovering slowly thank you xx

he is starting to worry about the workload now -- have not worked ffor 8 days

off to see the kidney specialist tomorrow

Now I have too much iron in my blood -- see the iron overload specialist in august

cutting back on work a bit more this week

Hi @zipper @mia1 @Attahua & @Cat64

I wanted to tag you guys in this thread because I wanted to check in to see how you're all doing

It's great that the forums can be a place to turn when the going gets tough. Though I often wonder how many of you doing after (or still doing during) the diffcult time.

The role of a carer is often never ending and is a bit of a rollercoaster, and I wanted to let you guys know we're here, both during the great times and tough times.

So feel free to jump in and give an update, ask for advice or if you feel a vent would be helpful - go for it.

For other members - if you wanted to check in on other members you've connected with before, feel free to @mention them here.

Hi everyone,

As I said above, this thread is really about checking in on members who have posted before to see how they are travelling.

Even when things are going well, it's helpful to connect with others to maintain our wellbeing.

This week I wanted to check in with @sybill07, Sybill, the thread you started 'Looking after yourself... theory v practice' (check it out for those who haven't seen it before!), still stands out in my mind as one of the most critical discussions in this forums. I often recommend others to check it out.

I just wanted to check in to see how you're travelling. Were you able to find the balance you were looking for?

@Jaye-Kay - how is caring for your daughter on the other side of the world going? I hope she's doing well.

@Janna how is your son travelling?

Looking forward to hearing from you all and hope you and your loved ones are well.

Hi All,

An update re: my son. My son has been in residential care since April and is making good progress both in terms of his mental health and re-engaging back into a school curriculum via distance education. His treating psychiatrist decided to trial taking him off medication whilst he was under the watchful eyes of his care team. After a slow reduction over one week he then went cold turkey with no meds. Exactly 2.5 weeks later his anxiety escalated and his mood dropped in a very noticeable way. He described it as being that every single thing was annoying him - and I mean every single thing - people, people talking, being where he was, the food, etc. This annoyance became so bad that he claimed it was making his blood boil and he also claimed that he could feel radiant heat eminating off his body!! Additionally his mood dropped and he became far less engaged in everything and began withdrawing into silence. He was contemplating walking out of the facility and never returning. Luckily this was noticed and he was recommenced on meds immediately. His psychiatrist apologised for this but stated that the exercise had proved two very important things: that he needs to be on meds and that the meds he is on work. They have now doubled his dose of meds and he has responded very well. In fact he has been the best I have seen since I can remember. He looks brighter, talks more, laughs frequently, has more energy, is more willing to do things and is not angry and oppositional. He has been on this new dose now for around 4 weeks and I couldn't be happier. He has been accepted into an SSP school and the goal now is to begin integration. He is not too keen on this but it is only early days and I'm sure they'll pace him according to his own comfort and readiness. He has decided to do his HSC via pathways over the next 2 years and is working towards this now. Additionally they have also been very active in building up social skills with things like travel training, excursions to shops to buy things, etc. Considering he had spent the past 3-4 years holed up in his bedroom this is huge and so needed.

I can't speak highly enough about this facility. I've gone from feeling that I had forever lost my son to MI and that his future was doomed, to now feeling that there is hope and a good chance he will get through this and become a functioning adult. The only negative would be the extra time and commitment on my part which has made my days/weeks exceptionally full as I am often required to travel to the facility between 2-4 times per week (1 hour each way) and toggle this with work and home. In saying that, it really is a small price to pay to be getting my son back. We are so fortunate.

Janna❤️