please help

I wish I had started to write this blog months ago when my sister's relapse began. I had more energy and hope then. I am exhausted, pessimistic, angry and bone-weary of my sister's schizophrenia. It is killing my parents. My sister and her illness occupy all their time and use up what little money they have. My father has aged 20 years in the past few months and the constant worry about my sister has caused his alcoholism to become worse. My mother is heartsick and desperate to help her daughter, she repeats "our lives are ruined." I have lost my best friend, partner in crime, confidant and sister. My sister is going through more mental, emotional and spiritual torment than anyone should have to endure in a lifetime. Schizophrenia has gutted all of our lives.

My sister has suffered from schizophrenia for nearly 18 years. This is well-documented in her medical records. A few years ago before she was prescribed Clozapine, a medication that gave her back her life, she had an episode at a friend's house. He called the police on her and they peppersprayed, handcuffed and dragged her to jail. She eventually ended up in the Behavioral Unit at Miller-Dwan. We did not know where she was for 3 days. We called all of her friends, the police and every hospital in Duluth. The police and hospitals said they had no information. We were worried someone had hurt her. The police and the hospital knew where she was all along but did not tell us to protect her privacy!  We are her family and her caretakers! Because she was an adult we had no rights or say in her care. We are her advocates, we are the only ones who know her and what her normal is. The result of this experience is that my sister signed papers to give my parents the right to have access to her medical care. They go to her doctor appointments with her. My parents are my sister's greatest source of strength, support and encouragement. Without them she would not be as highly functioning as she has been. She revoked those rights when she had a psychotic break in December. This is the time when she needs us to advocate for her and make certain she receives proper care. She is too sick to ask for help on her own. We are powerless. The doctors and the ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) team will not talk to us because it would violate my sister's privacy. They do not realize how sick she is. They do not understand that my sister's shutting her family out is an indication that her illness is getting worse.

We contacted the ACT team in December when we realized that my sister was extremely sick and needed to be hospitalized. They said there was nothing they could do right now but when she tries to commit suicide, hurts someone, gets evicted, has her car repossessed, drops out of school, in short when her life has completely fallen apart they would "be happy to help her and she will need a lot of help then." Why would we wait until everything she has worked so hard to obtain is gone? Who benefits from that? Not my sister! Maybe the ACT team because they will have a lot to do.

Schizophrenia is a no-fault medical illness. My sister did not cause this disease. She needs medical attention but it is denied her because the mental health system in this country is broken. Previously, when my sister's symptoms began to overwhelm her she would go to the Bridge House for a few days or a week. She felt safe there and could get help right away if she needed it. The Bridge House was permanently closed this summer. If it was open her plummet into insanity could have been prevented.

My parents and I have spent countless hours begging people to help my sister. Here is a partial list:
-the ACT team including her psychiatrist - useless
-the police - useless
-+NAMI - sympathetic but nothing they can do
-+NARSAD - useless
-Miller-Dwan - useless
-St. Luke's - nothing they can do
-Al Franken - his representative who responded quickly suggested the United Way
-the United Way - useless
-Amy Klobuchar - no response
-WCCO - no response
-the Mobile Crisis Unit - they have checked on her several times and will transport her to the hospital upon her request but she is too sick to ask for help
-the +Wellstone Center - she must go there voluntarily


The problem is that when someone is having a mental health crisis they are unable to seek help. They are lost in a nightmare, they cannot tell what is real and what is not. They are denied medical care if they do not demand it and even then they may be turned away, they may not be considered "sick enough." Imagine if you had cancer and were not allowed medical treatment until your case was terminal. My sister's case has been terminal for months and we are not able to get her the medical care she needs and deserves!