Finally - an update!!! 8-09

Well, let’s see, it seems I have a little catching up to do. Gee,... where to start…?

Well, first of all, my darling little granddaughter Koby is 4 months old!!!

I love her sooooo much!!!

Ok, so in June, Lisa and I moved from our last apartment in Boise to a new one over by the mall. It was less expensive, except for the jerk we rented from last pulled a whole bunch of stunts that ended up costing me over $1500! Jackass! But I regress….

This nice young man named Chris helped us move to the new apartment. Cute guy, big and strong. A great help! And then,… he just really never left!

He and Lisa hit it off wonderfully. He seemed to love Koby, and hey, he was pretty nice to have around. I must say, we all adored him. So he’s a permanent fixture in the family now. :o)

Lisa got a great job doing website work for a company that is probably the biggest car dealership in Idaho. She worked there all summer and will continue, very part-time, through fall and winter while she’s in school. Lisa is getting very close to completing her degree. Her degree will be in Broadcast Communication. Her intent is to do sports broadcasting. I think she’ll be very good at it. Lisa will be the first one in the family, (except my father), to get a college degree. Go Lisa Go!!!

Lisa is an amazing young woman. So strong, so determined. Such a wonderful mother, daughter and sister. I admire her. And I am soooo proud of her!
Andrea continued to struggle with her depression and anxiety attacks. Her sleeping patterns have been very irregular for long time. She’s had a rough time.

Well it all came to a head in early July. She made an extreme cry for help when she OD’d herself on her medication. She ended up in the psych hospital – a ward of the state. NOT fun for anyone. When the State of Idaho is calling the shots on what happens to your daughter, it’s frightening. Because to them, she is just an inconvenience and an expense. They don’t CARE about getting her the help she needs. It was incredibly frustrating to find that Idaho simply doesn’t HAVE ANYTHING to help people like Andrea. There are NO programs in the entire state for someone like her. See, where Andrea is different is that she is not on drugs, she’s not alcoholic, and she doesn’t have a criminal record. Hell, she doesn’t even have anything tattooed or pierced. She’s just a good kid, with some emotional issues. Idaho doesn’t give a shit about people like that. If you’re not addicted to crack, they don’t have time for you. And I had medical professionals at St. Als, St. Lukes and other private practices ALL confirm that. They all said, “If you really want to help her, you HAVE to get her out of the state.”

The problem is that all the private hostpitals and programs are HIDEOUSLY expensive. $30K to $40K per month! PER MONTH! Geez! How can ANYONE afford that??? Well, now we know why there are so many mentally ill homeless people. Seriously.

With the help of my two wonderful sisters and my amazing mother, we found a place in southern California that we felt could help her, and that we could afford. It’s a great program that Andrea could actually enjoy too. Lots of art and creativity, meditation and yoga, and it’s located right on the beach and she could go down there anytime.

So, gee,… all we had to do was get the state of Idaho to release her from their cold little clutches so that we could get her some real help. You’d think it would be easy, but it took about a week of frustration, phone calls, pleading and coaching, but we managed to get them to let her go. What a ‘cluster’!

Finally, on August 5th, (almost a month later), they released Andrea to go directly to the airport, so that she and I could fly down to S. California and get her enrolled in a program that would give her a new lease on life. (Ken brought her bunny, Pearl, to the airport so that she could say goodbye. )

Things are going well for her down there. She’s been there two weeks, and is doing better. She's been participating in everything, and getting a lot out of the experience. It’s sooo nice to hear her sound upbeat and hopeful! I so proud of her for fighting so hard and being so strong through ALL of this,... because it sure hasn't been easy.

This has been a very shorten version of Andrea’s ‘story’,
but I’ve kept detailed notes of what she went through on the inside of the ‘system’, and what we went through on the ‘outside’. I hope to write an article or two about it, that might get published. If I can save even one parent from going this hell, then it would be worth it.


OK,…. So with Chris fully moved in and taking good care of Lisa and Koby, and Andrea safe and sound in S. California, and my job in Boise dwindling down to almost no hours at all, it seemed it was time for a change.
So on August 10th, I loaded my clothes, my sewing machine, and my little Gracie bird into my Kia Rio, and headed for new dreams in the Pacific Northwest.


Pisces IS the sign of water,… time to go sailing.

Cool video :o)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xslO6Qi_kGQ