Hospital Stay #6, Day 6

We had our family therapy session at the hospital this afternoon. This new therapist is cute as a button and very easy to talk to.  We talked to her for a good half hour or so before she went and brought Javan in to see us. I told her how I never know when to hospitalize since his behavior is so often hospital-worthy. She said basically when we start seeing aggression or threats that are way above his norm then we know it’s time to put him in before someone gets hurt.

Javan came in and hugged us and sat down to chat. He was unusually hyper and antsy today, but in good spirits. He couldn’t stay in the chair for more than a few seconds at a time and continually paced the room. It seemed like his thoughts were jumping around too and he wasn’t staying on topic nearly as well as he usually can. He is taking very good care of himself hygeine-wise, which is normally something he totally ignores when he’s in the hospital. I don’t think he’s brushing his teeth, but he’s at least showering and changing clothes every day.

We saw him for a good hour and then it was time for him to go back to his unit for movie time. Visitation was only 2 hours away, when we would see him again, plus his uncle was going to come visit too. But he started grabbing at my purse and wouldn’t go. I told him if he was going to be ugly and disobedient when we left, then we couldn’t come back for visitation because we’d know he would act that way after visitation too. He continued to struggle though and wouldn’t go on his own. He even tried running away and when he realized the big double doors were locked, he ran back to the therapist and tried stealing her key card. He didn’t get it, so he lay down on the floor crying. She had to get a male nurse to come get him.

He called me about half an hour later and I reiterated that we couldn’t come to visitation tonight. He just fell apart. I feel like a sack of poo. He’s so upset. But I know this is unlikely to be his last hospitalization, so it’s important for him to learn that we can’t have him acting like that when we leave.

On the phone, I overheard in the background that there was a movie playing, so I asked him what they were watching. He responded,  “Captain America Silver War.” Oh, heck no. We’ve had trouble with movies at that hospital in the past and made a huge fuss about it. We even mentioned how important what Javan watches is to the admitting nurse. He assured us that all movies played on that floor have to be authorized by him personally and he won’t allow them to watch anything over PG. Well, apparently the weekend nurses didn’t get the memo. They went and got a redbox movie for their own entertainment instead of putting the kids first.

I got Javan to give the phone to a nurse and I confirmed with him that they were in fact watching “Captain America: Civil War.” Yes, they were. I firmly explained that that movie is PG-13 and full of violence and not at all an acceptable choice for mentally unstable 5-12 year olds. He handed me over to some other lady who I repeated the same rant to. Her reply? “Your son isn’t watching the movie. He’s coloring.” I said, “Ok, well I’m glad he’s making the good choice not to watch a movie that’s unhealthy for him, but I’d much rather you make the choice not to play movies that are unhealthy for the children there. If you don’t want to change it, I will call someone else until it is changed.” She replied that they would put on the Chipmunks instead.

Then she put Javan back on who assured me that he hadn’t been coloring but had been watching the movie and preferred Captain America over the Chipmunks. Oh, I’m so angry! The weekday nurses at this hospital are beyond amazing, but those weekend nurses need to get their act together. I will be calling the admitting nurse in charge of movies tomorrow morning and you can bet he won’t be happy to hear what went on.

We then had to say goodbye to our heartbroken boy and reassure him that we’d see him tomorrow when he gets to come HOME! Now we’re settling in at my brother and sister-in-law’s house less than an hour away and getting ready to watch ELF with my little niece. This is the perfect way to destress after today. Thanks for taking us in, CJ and Jessica!