NAMI SCC Website

Our son’s illness started at late 16 and the schools did not recognize his condition, but neither did we. He dropped out as a sophomore and tried several different alternative schooling but none worked. He got in trouble and ended up in the juvenile courts but we always got him off. Private counseling and seeing a psychiatrist did not help and when his illness gradually became worse, we were in complete denial. In one of the counseling sessions, the counselor recognized that there was something seriously wrong and called the police.

Our son was arrested on a code 5150 and taken to Dominican for evaluation. He ended up at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco and that turned out to be a total disaster. Our 20 days of insurance coverage ran out and we were paying $650 per day to keep him there. 

As funds got depleted and we were going deep in debt, we took him home. We learned some things about his illness at St. Mary’s but hardly enough to know just what to do. While at home, he refused to take his medication and quickly became unmanageable. Again, he was picked up and taken to Fremont Hospital, and the place was a little better.

He was gravely ill but we had no point of reference to know that. Our medical insurance kicked in for the following year and had another 20 days coverage. Again, we used up the time allowed and began paying a negotiated daily charge of $350 per day. We kept him there as long as we could and again brought him back home when he became somewhat stable. Without taking his medication, he again decompensated and ended up seriously hurting me, believing I was some monster in his psychosis. This time, the county moved to have him conserved and the judge gave the order. We agreed this was his best chance to get the services he badly needed and we didn’t fight the case. No charges were filed so his record stayed clean. The decision to conserve him was probably the best thing that could have happened in getting proper and sustained treatment. 

We agreed in getting him conserved, having thought it out thoroughly. First, we were assured that we would have a significant say on his treatment. The only exception would be if we were to do something that is not to his best interest, then the final say will come from his conservator. However, if this situation were to present itself, the county would be very hesitant to spend the time and money fighting us in courts and would probably take the easier route and release him to us. He was assigned to a caseworker with the County Mental Health, and I must say, she is a God-given angel and we could not have asked for anyone better. My son qualified for Social Security under medical disability and became eligible for medical benefits. His caseworker processed the Social Security application with support from the county system. This helped tremendously to stabilize our financial outflow. We were again free to take the role of parents while the system took care of his treatment, with our input. We stayed completely involved and felt in control most of the time. Looking back, I’m sure we could have done some things a little bit better, but given our level of knowledge and experience at the time, we would not change a thing.

I certainly recommend this route to any parent in a similar situation.  After the county became the conservator, we agreed for my son to be placed in a locked facility in Merced, as opposed to 7th Avenue [Santa Cruz locked facility].

However, driving 2-1/2 hours each way 3 times a week for 9 months was certainly physically demanding. By this time, we have become fairly well informed about mental illness and were totally involved in his treatment. His caseworker tells us that our level of involvement probably happens only in 1 out of 100 cases. We interacted closely with everyone on his treatment. My son was treated with many different types of medication until we (strongly) suggested putting him on liquid Clozaril.

The medical field has described Clozaril or Clozapine as the newest wonder drug. I certainly agree and plan to stick with it until something better comes along.

After 9 months in Merced, he came back to Santa Cruz and was placed at El Dorado for a short time. He regained some of his self-esteem and got better. He then earned a bed at Opal Cliffs. The corner room that he was in, overlooking the ocean would probably rent for at least $600 per month. Everything seemed to be falling in place. His progress continued and he took a couple of classes at Cabrillo. He really had it made, so to speak. However, he still would not admit to his illness and "cheeked" his medication. As a result, he had two relapses. The first relapse took him through Dominican, El Dorado, then home. His home stay on a 30-day trial failed due to his non-compliance to medication. He again had to go to Dominican, 7th Avenue, and is now home.

He has done very well for over three months and seems to get even better each day.  After having experienced some very hard times out in the streets, and in locked facilities, he now seem aware that there is something awry but would still not admit to being ill. He is currently taking one class at Cabrillo, works out at the Gym regularly, takes walks at Pacific Avenue and at the Capitola Mall, and goes to dances at the Coconut Grove whenever there is one. He is also taking on new interest, such as building a radio-controlled hobby car. He still has difficulty socializing but this should improve with time. Any talk about a job, career, or vocation is far down in the future.

One thing he doesn’t need at this time is unnecessary pressure. We are fully cognizant of the nature of his illness and can only be thankful for all the help we received, and the little successes and improvements that we see. I must say this is the best he has ever been in the last three years. We finally see the great smile in his face that seems to say he has something to look forward to, after all. 

It has been a long painful journey and may continue for the rest of our life. I have decided to get involved in helping other parents so they don’ t have to go through the pain that we did. My suggestion is learn as much as you can about the illness, utilize the system, and stay fully involved. The system is not perfect but it is your best chance. Believe in God’s goodness. I momentarily lost my faith until I learned to accept that pain has always been a part of life, and always will be. Someone told me that God would never put us through anything we could not handle. The cross can be very heavy at times but not impossible to carry.