Going Mental....

Not good news today.  Actually terrible news.  We've been trying to get Dad's Xanax refilled because his behavior is becoming more difficult for The Valley View Gardens staff to deal with.  He won't cooperate to shower, or get dressed, or basically do anything that he doesn't want to do and he responds by trying to hit or punch the staff.  Megan and I both know that even though he is 72 and has severe Alzheimer's, Dad can still pull out that mean, scary side when he wants.  He even hit one of the pregnant staff members the other day.

The Xanax is taking forever because it was discontinued due to the fact that the doctor didn't want him on Ambien, Seroquel, and Xanax all at once.  So, I had to request that it be renewed, then it had to be refilled, and then it is supposed to arrive in the mail.  There is nothing I can do to speed up this process... we are in the hands of the VA, and that's how it's done.  Anyway, it still hasn't arrived, and his behavior is getting worse. 

So, I got a call today requesting that I take him out of the facility and into the mental health department at the VA.  I'm not even sure where to start with this request.  First of all, where is the mental health department?  Will they just take a walk-in?  And what will happen to him there?  Are they supposed to keep him overnight?  I am trying to get Dad's psychiatrist on the phone who prescribed all the above medications and get his opinion.  

I wondered why I was handling all this so well at first, but once I got off the phone after venting to my Mom, I burst into tears.  But it didn't last long because I stole a glance over at my 4 month old daughter Emry who was giving me the most sympathetic look... I swear if she could talk, she would have said, "It's okay Mommy."

Wait... Just talked to the Doctor while I was writing this and he says that taking him to the Mental Health Department will just result in them giving him a sedative or shot of Xanax and then releasing him -- basically a waste of our time.  He also says that the staff just needs to learn to deal with this behavior (which I agree with, but we don't want my Dad to get kicked out).  We have the okay to increase his dose of the other two medications until the Xanax arrives.  Apparently it was refilled last Thursday, so I don't know why it's taking so long to arrive...