Here we are at day 2 of the blog, day 4 of the program and have made a little progress in the western portion of LA. Yesterday the ABC psychiatrist (an official DR not an intern) wrote a new script for Oskar and we had a lengthy yet productive conversation of the pros and cons of the new stimulant he recommended. I like the psychiatrist; he answers all my questions and speaks with me like a peer not a patient. I've also grown to like the psychologist intern. He reminds me of George from Grey's Anatomy. A little goofy, not great at delivering information but you know his intentions are good, he likes what he does, and like George, he has a limited role as his rounds end in a couple of weeks. Sucks to be hit by a bus.
With script in hand, we head to the pharmacy next door within the 'free clinic'. I put 'free' in quotes as we all know it's not really free but I'm sure it paints a Van Gough like picture of the cast of characters within, one of them being an older woman wearing the most shocking pink tight's I've ever seen under frayed, cut-off jean shorts. I think she cut them herself as one leg was several inches shorter than the other. She had a small yipper type dog and of course Oskar HAD to pet it so he asked her if he could. As she was explaining her dog was 'working' (I'm all over the quotes today) and that he probably shouldn't, he went ahead anyway and the dog proceeded to bite at Oskar. At this point I physically intervene putting myself between the 10-pound terror and my son with selective hearing while listening to the woman continue her story. Apparently Killer's job was to protect her so he was trained to bite anyone that came near her and her priceless leg wear. Now I'm wondering if maybe the jean shorts were actually a by-product of her dog's fierce devotion to her safety and possibly fashion.
No harm, no foul we're out of there with his meds and a new appreciation that bad ass comes in all sizes. As we walk back to our motel, Oskar has upped the ante on how long he can take to get from one block to another and two hours later, we have completed the two miles. You can only imagine how many rocks he stuffed down the sewer grates, pay phones he fingered, ATM touch screens he poked at and parking meter knobs he twisted, followed-up with some hand or digit interaction with his mouth. Finally in our room, I want to dip his entire body in a pool of purell. I've got to let the germ thing go.
This morning at 6 am sharp Oskar delivers a cheerful 'good morning momma!' I wish these few minutes of the day would last forever as he is so sweet when he first wakes up. O makes me coffee and powers up my laptop to play pbskids.org. I don't make a fuss because he DID make me coffee but more importantly he's eating breakfast and I'm picking my battles. After our 2-hr adventure yesterday, I drive to UCLA and we get there in 10 minutes.
Entering the neuropsychiatric hospital is exactly what you would expect it to be. The building is brick and the walls/floors are sterile white. The elevators don't indicate if they're going up or down so you have to ask the current passengers which direction they are going. Perfect irony for a mental health institution. The ABC program is on the 5th floor and when you enter the ward all the doors are locked. The door knobs must be at about 6 feet. I have to raise my arm to open one. The first thing you see is the nurses station and fortunatley, no sign of Nurse Ratched. It's an enclosed room with surrounding windows and again with all the locked doors and keys being pulled from pockets to open them, it gives me the creeps. The building is old and I recognize it's not the program, they are just working within the space they were given, but you can imagine the horrors over past decades that have occured within these walls. Can you say labatomy?
Oskar had a better day today and I'm hopeful to see how these new meds pan out for him. I have a meeting tomorrow with George the Intern (that's my new name for him) and I should have a better idea of what to expect over the next several weeks. I also have parent group at 9 and looking at an apartment at 10. All moving in a positive direction even though Oskar left me this note.....
I guess that can go both ways.
Signing off and keeping out.....
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