PLANS CHANGED - He's going into Alcohol(ism) Rehab instead.

Hi there.

My last post mentioned that our son (Tom) was probably going soon into a local charity's mental health care therapeutic community house. It was a great place, but we found there would probably not be welfare funding for him to go there. The next bit of news was that instead he can go into an alcohol Rehab. Unit - there is funding for that. The UK Government clearly puts drug and alcohol services above mental health in priority. Also Tom's needs may be greater in that area - he has to get off the alcohol addiction before he can go ahead with long-term mental health treatment.

The two alcohol rehab. units we were told about are not too far away. The better one is in Ealing, which is quite near our church house in Acton, and would be handy for getting over there. We could also drive there easily. The other place is in Battersea, further into London. They both offer much the same regime, as they are run by the same charity, 'Turning Point'.

In the meantime, Tom is getting better. He still has quite bad nervous tics (Tourette's syndrome, and OCD), but his other traits are improved - he is more relaxed, and is over his detox. He is still in the acute mental health ward, where he feels safe. We hope he can be transferred direct to the rehab. unit when a place is free. He would be in there for about 3 months - not as long as in the other therapeutic house, but he could move on from there, maybe into a M H centre. In the long run, he wants to be able to live in a Jesus Army community house - ie. "go into Community" with fellow Christians. That has been his ambition for many years. He is not able to do that yet, as he cannot for sure keep off drinking, which is certainly not allowed. He was kicked out for drinking to excess, in 2000; he is still a church member, but cannot guarantee to behave well enough to be in a community house.

We have been enjoying walks with him in Richmond Park over these weeks. It does not leave me much time for other activities! It has made us quite healthy though - plenty of exercise. I am teaching on Monday evenings, and manage to fit that in, preparing my lectures when I can. Also there are Church events, and visiting my friend J. It has been hard to get to the shops, or do other things. I do not have much time to go online for a longer time to write this blog - there's much to catch up with. I write poems about my life at difficult times, and posted one tonight on The Compassionate Friends website. This is for families who have lost children - our lovely, talented daughter Alice died in 2000 - in a road crash in Scotland. I shall say more about her in future - her birthday (when she was alive) is on December 27th (she died aged 27, and would by this time be 32 years old). We miss her a lot, even though she lived a long way from us in Scotland, and had been studying at Oxford for several years before that. We always knew she could come home to visit, or phone up. (The chance of grandchildren for me is now much more remote.)

On this rather sad note, I shall end. We are hoping things are improving for Tom, although it all seems to change every so often. I pray that he will continue to get stronger. This Saturday I am away with nearly all of my church in Sheffield, for a special Worship Day - it is the 3rd anniversary of my Baptism there (Wow!).

All the best,
Tigey