I was able to visit with Mitchel. He's alert and in pretty good spirits. He's excited for the basketball game tonight. His team is playing. Portland Trailblazers. I'm so happy that the care team is giving him the opportunities to watch these games. I've noticed a big difference in his demeanor since they've been giving him this extra privilege. He pretty much gets the TV room all to himself with one tech watching him during the game.
He has a cast on his arm for two more weeks. The surgeon rearranged the pins and took out stitches yesterday. Mitchel picked a yellow cast because he said he wanted to match my fingernails. LOL
The clinical appointment went well. Mitchel only had two aggressive incidents last month. The self-harming increased.
I was thinking on my drive home how long this has been going on with Mitchel and the illness. It's been 11 years, now, since the initial diagnosis. I'm certain he had symptoms long before the diagnosis but all hospitalizations began in 2008. He was in psychiatric hospitals in Los Angeles and Bellingham, Washington before becoming an inpatient at Utah State Hospital.
It makes me really sad when I look back at everything that has happened, but it also brings me to realize he's safe, now, and not homeless living underneath that bridge in California. He has meals, clothes, medication, and a bed to sleep in. That, alone, makes me grateful.
Sherry and Mitchel