Oh, what a difference a year can make!
My son, Ryan, has just realized a long held dream and vision for himself. He's enrolled in a job training program at the Marc Center and will be participating in employment enclaves earning $10.00 an hour. Ryan experienced his first psychiatric break in 2006 and was not well enough to work for over 10 years.
Just one year ago, Ryan was in crisis, experiencing psychosis, and needed to be hospitalized. Earlier in the day, he'd been served with an immediate eviction notice and was facing homelessness. He was frightened and refusing to leave his home.
Ryan's treatment team petitioned to amend his court ordered treatment. A judge signed the petition for involuntary treatment and a pick up order was sent to the Glendale Police Department. At approximately 6 p.m. on November 10, 2016, a swat team surrounded my son's house and began what would end up as a six hour negotiation. As a last resort, officers broke out the windows of the house and threw in tear gas and smoke bombs. Ryan huddled under his blankets on his bed and stayed in the house for 20 more minutes. Finally, the swat team forced entry and shot Ryan with beanbag guns In order to remove him from his home.
Ryan spent the next 4 four months as an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital. The psychiatrist suggested we put Ryan on the big gun of psychiatric medications, Clozaril, because no other medication had worked. The medication is working and Ryan continues to improve. He's had minor setbacks over the last year but always gets right back on track.
I look back over the last ten years and know how hopeless it once seemed. I see how far Ryan's come and it's nothing short of miraculous. If I've learned anything, it's to take one day at a time and celebrate each victory. Never give up. Never ever lose hope. Ryan's story isn't over and neither is yours.
Oh, what a difference a year can make!
Watch Christi's tribute to her son. Click on Ryan Weeks The Overcomer
Ryan