Suffer

I read an email (after my previous post for today) from my aunt, informing me that my cousin had been hospitalized yesterday. Apaprently since Christmas she's been exhibiting unusal behavior & 3 weeks ago my family called the police to intervene but my cousin happened to not be at home when they arrived at her house. A neighbor, who coincidentally used to teach my cousin art in high school, told my cousin that her parents had called the police, despite my aunt speaking with the neighbor on the phone (in the hopes of he ex-teacher at least keeping an eye on my cousin). After hearing this, my cousin refused to answer doors or the phone but was still typing maessages via email, her blog & MSN to me & my cousin. The messges were increasingly cryptic & somewhat disturbing.

My cousin had lost her job, all of her friends & is either schizophrenic or bipolar. She had started working at a new job but yesterday was fired. One of her coworkers has a friend on the police force & this person notified the police that my cousin was not doing well. The police contacted my uncle, who they would know due to the nature of his line of work (he works for the Solicitor General). The police obtained a medical warrent for arrest & transported her to the hospital, where my uncle met them. She was subsequently admitted & will not be released any time soon, pending assessments and such.

Of course, now that she's hospitalized, I suspect that she'll be medicated to stabilize her & from there the psychiatrist(s) will "determine" a diagnosis, based on the DSM-IVR. My concern would be the effect of any psychotropic meds on someone who has sustained a brain injury. Meds are meant to create a sort of equilibrium for people who have experienced some sort of chemical imbalance of the neurotransmitters (the chemicals that mediate, well, almost everything since they neurons are the basis of everything we do--breathing, emotion, sensation etc.). When a person has sustained a brain injury, the brain is permantently altered & the drug's intended effect may not be achieved, since drug trials are based on "normal" (non-injured) samples. In some cases, a med may have an opposite effect of that which is intended. Disclaimer: I am NOT a doctor, pharmacist or psychiatrist--so don't believe me.

The bottom line is she's sick & needs help. I just hope she gets better--whatever that really means.