November 14, 2011
During the day I worked as much as I could, but I hadn’t really worked seriously for months. I just fit business in when I could, trying to make enough money to support us. I was barely bringing in enough to pay bills, and if not for my roommate Susan always stepping in to help, I have no idea where my daughter and I would have been.
I always, however, went through the motions. I woke and dressed, then drove to the office each day and sat at my desk with no idea what to do. I usually had no business to conduct or anything to follow up on, but I knew I needed to get out in the world, if for no other reason than to be around people. Most days I only lasted at work until about lunch time. Then I would drive back home and get ready for my visits with Gabriela.
Each day, I brought things to the hospital for her. She hadn’t been eating or drinking, so I brought snack bars, chocolates, and bottled water.
After four or five days of Gabriela not eating, sleeping, drinking, or doing much of anything I got to the Ward to find a change. As I sat with Gabriela in the hallway, she gave short responses to the questions I asked. She also occasionally smiled sheepishly and hugged my arm as we sat. It wasn’t a big change, but it was an improvement.
The CA told me that Gabriela had had a sip of her juice for breakfast but hadn’t finished it. She also hadn’t eaten any food during the day or evening before.
I know people can go for an incredible number of days without food, but without water it’s only a matter of days before things start going wrong.
I had spoken with Dr. Duncan the day before (Sunday) about the possibility of putting Gabriela on a medical ward to force feed her food, water, and medications. He had reluctantly admitted that she couldn’t continue much longer on her current path, so we agreed that if she was not cooperative by Tuesday he would start something called a Riese Petition. This simply meant that she would be forcibly medicated and fed.
She desperately needed anti-psychotic medications to cut through the hallucinations and paranoia, and getting that under control would hopefully allow her to think clearly enough to take care of herself and participate in getting better.
As visiting hours were nearing their end, the nurse offered Gabriela her medications. Gabriela took the cup full of pills and just poked at them with her finger.
“Gabriela, they’re fine, they are just generics. Take your meds, sweetie.”
Gabriela looked at me and tipped her head back, pouring all the pills into her mouth at once. Then she took a small cup of water and washed them down. She drank the water so fast and furiously that it ran out the sides of the cup and down her jacket. She hadn’t had water for so long that that little splash must have felt incredibly refreshing.
“I brought you bottled water,” I told her, “It’s here. Would you like some?”
Gabriela nodded her head and the client assistant brought out a bottle. She tipped the bottle up and drained it in one motion. The client assistant retrieved another bottle for her. She downed the second one as she had the first.
One step forward. Gabriela was drinking water and had taken her meds again!