I know it's the Holidays but my spirit feels like it's just like any other day. Can't be helped, I'm on duty. The thing about dealing with psychiatric patients is that it's a common story to hear their folks have abandoned them for their condition. It doesn't happen all the time but when you encounter such a case, it's something.
I saw a patient came in asking for meds because she ran out of stock. She was unkempt, and had the exact homeless look with the smell reminding me of the streets. She was in her 40s but looked 2 decades old. She had poor insight to her condition but at least she had the good sense of judgment to have some consult done for her meds.
I'd say it's close to a miracle to have this kind of sense from such patients living in the streets. She has schizophrenia and the voices are telling her constantly to go off herself. She sees demons. She has all the ticks to be admitted but still refuses and prefers to just get an out patient service.
We tried to get her some help like contacting her folks but they already abandoned her in the streets. There was no help from them coming and social services can only do so much till they hit a dead end. Everybody needs help, there's just not much resources to help everyone.
She'll be back to the streets again begging and sleeping on benches. But she isn't alone, accompanying her is her partner she met in the streets too and with the same condition as hers. But this time he looked more like he could go out any moment given how sickly looking he is.
The two had been living together in the streets begging. They even suffer from the same condition and become occasionally out of touch with reality. I looked at her partner and felt like I was looking at a man with a life that's about to be taken by the gentle breeze of the wind. He probably has tuberculosis or pneumonia based on the sound of his coughs.
There's not much I could do there. These cases have been referred to social services and the same old story comes up anyway, they try to locate their respective folks, coordinate with different agencies but eventually, even after all the trouble, they'll still find their way back into the streets.
There are more cases similar to hers out there. I only recalled this case that happened a few days ago just out of the blue. It's one of those moments where you just don't think about it too much because there's no point dwelling on things you can't control despite how much you want to do something about the situation. It's probably due to the Holidays and I pictured the two just waiting for scraps outside restaurants like they used to somewhere out there.
Thanks for your time.
Hey, keep writing these stories. Sometimes, it feels like we're in a ghost town of zombies (referring to Hive posts with zero comments), but we never know how someone might appreciate your content or how it could change their life. I was feeling down for a moment, and imagining the case you explained above gave me the courage to keep moving forward without burning out. Thanks for sharing this story. It might seem like a hopeless case, but it gives others hope when they compare two different living conditions and feel thankful for their own.
I'm not bothered by the lack of comments on posts. It's much harsher out on other social media as a nobody. Regarding stories like her, they're too common unfortunately and best not to dwell on it further because the world doesn't stop moving.
It really pains me just by reading through your post kuya @adamada ... and I cant really imagine how I would feel beeing on your position to see someone and look them in the eyes and know that they need help but theres just thing that we can't control in life...
Man, what a story you shared this time...
You get used to it. This is why people that worked long in health care, especially those that have been in it for years learned how to move without thinking much about things beyond their control. There's nothing I could do if the folks or patients themselves gave up too so better focus on those cases that can still change their fate.
I feel sorry for her. I hope she'll be reunited with her family soon. Psychiatric condition needs the presence of family all the more !BBH !LOLZ !PIZZA