Saturday, December 10, 2005

Meltdown in Michigan

I just saw my neice Kati (Paula's daughter) last weekend when back in Michigan. She seemed to be doing very well. She only had 2 weeks left in her semester at college (small college in Wisconsin), then she was coming out here with her dad for Christmas. She was going to take next semester off, then go to U of M next year.

Here is some background on Kati.

Kati took the train back to college, but missed the connecting bus in Chicago because the train was late. The meltdown ensues.

She went back to Ann Arbor, deciding to just let her grades come without finishing the semester work. She is really depressed. It has been a hell of a year for her. More than many of us could handle. I am not surprised by all of this, but just wish the timing was a little better.

John went out with a friend of the family last night, inviting Kati to go along. When John returned he found Kati on the floor, hovering over a bunch of pills. Some were cold medicine and some were an antidepressant. She told him she took 5 of each.

Nothing life threatening, but clearly a plee for help. John took her to the ER. Now she is in a psych ward. This scares the hell out of me, but I think it is very short term. I imagine the anti-depressants are making her head spin.

When one of my family hurts, I hurt.

4 comments:

terry said...

oh, jon.... that's so awful.
luckily, she has you and the rest of your family to help her through this.

Mel said...

I'm sorry to hear this Jon, and you're right - it's a cry for help. You have my email if you need to 'talk' - I hope with everything that Kati gets the help and support she needs to pull through. Stay well Jon, and best to Kati.

SignGurl said...

You are such a caring guy. Hope that everything turns out ok.

Le Synge Bleu said...

hey hon, okay, from my experience with grief and with the suicide of my brother, here are some thoughts: i know it may not feel like it, but the cry for help is actually a good sign...her attempt was serious enough to merit inpatient treatment but not serious enough to come close to going through with it. this means she will get the help she needs, and that she was, in her own way, reaching out for it. now she can begin to heal, without expectations of semi-normalcy (which i assume she was inundated with at college)during a very abnormal time in her life. she needs time, and she needs to go through her own journey regarding losing the person she was closest to in life - its not an easy process, nor a short one...but it is normal. it sounds to me like in her "holding it togather pretty well" that she's been doing for the past year has caused her seams to burst a bit. that's what happens when you try to hold it together, but need to let it out.

my seams still burst every now and then...6 years later.

you clearly love this girl unconditionally - let her know this as often as you can, and that's the best you can do. frustrating, i know, but its true.

sending you huge e-hugs, for what its worth.