Going Home

Our time at the conference and fun park has come to an end and we will go home today. Our trip has been marred by by some difficulties experienced by our middle son, a fellow that I usually identify as Younger Son Sneed. One of the reasons I blog every day, even when I am the only one reading my ramblings, is that it provides an outlet to process my thoughts. Sometimes it is an just online diary, a record of what is going on in life. Some days it is a way to stop and look at the world around me, others it is a way to look at life's absurdities. Today it is about venting (maybe the wrong word). Younger Son Sneed suffers from Schizoaffective disorder, I think. The reason I say think is that the diagnosis of mental illness is an inexact science, so diagnosis's change from time to time. He has suffered from delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, mood swings, social anxiety, sleep disorders and a host of other symptoms. If he didn't have a home with the lovey Mrs. Sneed and me, he would likely be homeless or in an institution. His life has been very difficult for him. In addition to his mental illness, he has a chronic medical condition that disabled him throughout his teen years. That condition is currently in remission. It seems that each time he thinks he may be in the clear for awhile, illness rears it's head. For the past year he resumed his college and will get an AA in May. He hopes to continue at the university. On Friday, in the midst of one of his "lost periods" he went out in Daughter Sneed's car, which he now recognizes was a mistake. He hadn't slept for several days. During these sleepless periods he loses track of days at a time and doesn't remember events that occur. Normally, we are at home to make sure that he doesn't endanger himself or other, when he is disoriented. Younger Son Sneed was involved in a fender bender, which fortunately caused little damage and no injuries. When the police arrived they mistook his condition for intoxication. They did a field sobriety test, which he flunked, giving them cause to do a Breathalyzer test. He tested zero, since he cannot drink alcohol. The police took him to jail to get a urine or blood sample to test for other impairing drugs. One of the side effects of the many drugs Younger Son Sneed suffers from is the inability to urinate so he couldn't provide a sample. There was no one available to do a blood sample, so the police chalked it up as a refusal to comply with the test and charged him with DUI. They called a cab and sent him home. His older brother took him to the hospital, where he was admitted to the mental heath services. Clearly something is going on with him because these blacked-out periods have increased in frequency. This is a major stressor on our entire family and we have some work ahead to sort out the various facets of this latest calamity. Younger Son Sneed, is a nearly thirty-one year-old man living with his parents, with none of the normal social relationships that we all take for granted. This is a difficult way to live a life. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky Tag: Daily Life Personal Finance Humor