Getting Sammy into Detox - October 10, 2022

Part 2 - It. Was. A. Day. (If you haven’t read Part 1 it will add context.)

Deb and I went to visit Sammy in the ER at 9:30 this morning. He was still on a bed in the hallway where he’d been all night. He hadn’t received any food or water since we fed him at 1pm yesterday. (He’s so soft spoken that he couldn’t get anyone’s attention.) We’d brought him some books and he was really happy to see us. The tremors in his hands showed he was detoxing from the alcohol but no one had given him any medication either. Deb got that stuff squared away and then she got busy on the phone.

I sat with Sammy and talked about reasons for sobriety and he’s still committed to the process. The ER was truly depressing. The staff is so overworked that in the hallways they were openly talking about leaving the profession to work in retail or food service or anything else. Some were hoping to switch to per-diem to control their schedules. There was also one female patient having an absolute meltdown wanting to leave but clearly not in her right mind. (She seemed to know a lot of colorful words and also about the marital status of the nurse’s mothers and fathers.) So sad and makes me fearful for the next few years of healthcare.

Deb managed to get Sammy into HighPoint for detox/rehab but it was in Plymouth. So after getting through a lot of phone interview stuff for intake he was accepted! So we checked him out of ER and drove him to Plymouth and checked him in for 7 days of detox. We are praying he completes the program and also that we can get him into Teen Challenge for long term rehab. Please join us in those prayers.

We’re still exhausted but much happier today. So glad it was a holiday so I could help Deb with this huge burden. Thank you all for your prayers!