Comments on: 3. Not guilty, so now what?

By: karen davis

karen davis — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:28:47 +0000

i need help my brother is in the same situation he is currently in jail and why can people get help for mental ill they would rather throw them in jail my brother is getting hurt in jail they are beating him up and throwing him in the hole he talks off the wall stuff and people in the jail hurt him over it please is there any help for us .. my dad was very mean to him as a child and nw he is suffer from bi polor and sciss… he would never hurt anyone i need help .. his sister karen

By: sarah j

sarah j — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:42:19 +0000

I understand the viral analogy…the ‘taking over’ of the body of the loved one. You put it so well. My heart goes out to you both. I am in a similar situation with my brother. The frustration, guilt and anxiety never goes away. Mental illness truly does not afflict only one person but also all those who care about that person. And yet…the very action of you writing, sharing your thoughts and this video clip helps me so much. A small moment of clarity and understanding. Perhaps there is some way I can get through to him. I thank you so much for this.

By: Robert Petitt

Robert Petitt — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 08:57:44 +0000

Hi Dennis,

Surely you remember me by my name, even though we haven’t spoken in about 15 years.

My ex-wife, Angel, forwarded this link to me. Periodically, I inquire of her whether she has heard from my dear friend Tony, and she always replies in the negative. In light of all I’ve read here so far, this positive is still very, very negative. Yet thankfully, I did read that he does not have to face 17 years in prison which would have compounded a horrible situation into an incalculable disaster.

It breaks my heart to hear of what he is going through. I have known two other male paranoid schizophrenic adults who committed suicide before age 40. I know Tony’s birthday, so he is a dozen years past that age. This does not bode well for him; the mere diagnosis of schizophrenia does not bode well for him, either. It is one of the worst diagnoses one could hope to obtain, though as you’ve aptly pointed out, should he simply continue to take his medication as prescribed, he will live out his life with some semblance of normalcy. I would imagine there is an unpleasant side-effect that is partially responsible for his repeatedly quitting his medication, notwithstanding what you and he had mentioned about feeling normal, feeling cured, and subsequently quitting again.

In his rational frame of mind, he clearly realizes he must continue to take his meds (I assume it’s a phenothiazine, something possibly related to thorazine), yet for reasons known only to his tortured mind, he fails to stick to the plan. If I’m not mistaken, there may be a way in which he can be given the dosages via IM or IV, which might last several days or a week at a time, but that would not offer a solution since he would need to report to someone periodically for the administration, and we both know he would not — once he felt good for a week.

I was always very fond of Tony. My God, we go back to Pat Av, 1967, two normal, happy ten-year-old boys. We have a lot of history. It bothered me deeply when I began to see changes in him sometime in the late 1970s, changes which were indicative of a deep underlying problem, one that showed more and more frightening manifestations as the 80s dawned. By 1985, I began wondering if his odd behavior was attributable to schizophrenia, and now I find that it indeed was.

Dennis, I don’t know if it will do any good for you to pass along a “hello” to Tony from me — it all would depend on which Tony you’re able to confer with. As for what the suffering Tony is putting you through, you have my sincerest condolences. If there were anything I could do, I would do so in a heartbeat.

I hope your mother is doing well. It’s good to hear that she is alive.

Regards,
Robert Petitt

By: Dennis Allard

Dennis Allard — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:02:42 +0000

The problem is not lack of meds. You are assuming rationality where there is none. I have tried in the past suggesting to my brother that I would take him to a clinic where he can get his meds and counseling. He refuses. Currently, he is back in jail. That is what the Scientologists want. By allowing an irrational delusional person to make a decision to remain off treatment, you have allowed the mental illness to continue being in charge of their life. It is as if a body snatcher has taken over the person and you have given the body snatcher rights.

By: A

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:08:12 +0000

Real sorry to hear about all of this. Though, I have a suggestion for next time you have time to have tony over to your house for a discussion. You can , beforehand, buy anti-psychotics online with or without prescription from national companies that have been established for a while. You could always try buying whatever the appropriate one is, whichever one worked for him before and see if you could convince him to take it. Does that sound like a valuable thing to do?

By: D

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:39:19 +0000

Being a mental health worker, it is quite sad to see the ineptness with which we handle mental illness. It gets worse. Certain folks want to strip services for the mentally ill even more, and some of us know the problem will not go away. It is a very depleating experience, frustrating, anxiety provoking and a serously lacking in effectiveness in cases such as Tony’s.

By: Jay Myers

Jay Myers — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:41:02 +0000

Amazing and sad.

I saw a pretty interesting show about Schizophrenia and families on PBS last week. One interesting factoid was the claim that the largest mental health facility in the U.S. currently is the LA County Jail.

There was an interview with E. Fuller Torrey, author of Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers. I remember reading one of his books back in college Abnormal Psych class and being impressed. You might check it out.

-Jay

By: Tulsa Kinney

Tulsa Kinney — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:02:48 +0000

Dennis,
I feel for you and Tony, and us all. He came to our house at midnight
Tuesday night. We turned him away, and he got back in the waiting
taxi. He accused Charlie of several things, including being a mason.
Then he did a “hitler Obama” thing.

He’s really off his rocker. I’m shocked he’s out on the streets.

Tulsa Kinney
Editor
Artillery art magazine
PO Box 26234
LA, CA 90026
www. artillerymag.com