Tuesday 24 May 2011

The other half of the day

There is a way that days can suddenly turn on their head.

We were pottering in the bottom field, me strimming with the new strimmer, her mixing commfrey and nettles in a big mash up.

Then the lightening hit. It was a phone call.

Now lets get a bit of history, some years back we fostered a young lad called P. P's mum had mental health problems and the plan was to foster him miles away so that she could not get to see him regularly. Not having a car and being a huge train journey away they reckoned she would not be able to maintain contact.

They reckoned without this mum.

2 days after ECT, unable to control her mouth, dribbling, she got on a train and crossed Wales to see her son.

The service threw lots at this to try and get her son freed up for adoption. It was a real war, I think it was one of the best bits of social work we have ever done. The problem I have is that the enemy in this case were all social workers.

Cutting a long story short, everyone worked very hard and a few years back P went home to live with his mother. Things have really been on the up for him.

Then the phone rang, mum has an illness that requires emergency surgery. She has been on psychotropic medication for years, her general health has been poor and she is a big risk for anaesthesia.

She phoned, a scared woman who thinks she might be dead by tomorrow night. What she was worried about was her son.

The student is out of here tomorrow to pick him up for a few days while his mum is in hospital.

If mum is not with us tomorrow, her wishes are that her son stay here with his second family.

We have no problem with that, my worry is that there are social workers out there in Daycastle who will.

I don't have religion, but if any of you readers have a hot line to the big G, could you please put in a word....


R

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