My daughter has PTSD?

I knew she didn't sleep well, but she really needed to go to school! I'm the mom, so I tried to get her there. Most of the time she left school one way or another, usually without me knowing. Our relationship really deteriorated. She didn't talk to me, hung out with some people I didn't like - I think because they had cars and could get her away from the school.

In February, we made an appointment with a psychiatrist for a March date. A couple of weeks before the appointment, she started talking about maybe needing to be in a hospital. She was so distressed! The next morning was a horrible ordeal so I called the psychiatrist's office and tried to get in sooner. We talked about what was happening and they suggested going to the hospital. She was at home and I called to tell her what they suggested. "Are you on your way home to get me?"

Getting admitted took from noon until after midnight - small town, small psychiatric facility. She was exhausted and ready to go home by then! We had to argue about her staying!

(Flashback) This young lady applied as an individual to go to special Girl Scout events in summers. First she went to Columbus, Ohio for a week. She learned how to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen and cool stuff like that. The next summer she went to Genessee Valley, New York for two weeks. She stayed with a host family the weekend before and after the event, which was about the Women's Rights Movement and the Underground Railroad. She came back with more poise and presence and respect and knowledge. It was wonderful! The third summer, she applied to go to an International Girl Guides and Girl Scouts event in Scotland. A handful of girls from Girl Scouts of the USA were chosen. Rather than just the week in Scotland, the sponsors took them for a 21 day trip - sightseeing in London and Scotland before the event. The girls researched and shared information before the trip - they then knew each other and knew about the historic and fun sites they would be visiting. She loved public speaking, was outgoing, intelligent, well-liked, thoughtful...

July of 2005, before her Junior year, we took a trip to London with members of our Girl Scout troop, including mothers and grandmothers. Pax Lodge,a WAGGGS World Center(World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) took care of all the plans, tickets, transporation - and we met scouts and guides from other places. The first day we were to tour in Central London. This was preempted by the terrorist bombings in the subway system and in public buses. British news is more graphic than U.S. news. Having been there the summer before, she was affected much more than most of the other girls. We both thought that was behind us, but it takes a few months for unresolved terror to develop into PTSD.

In September of 2005, right after school had started, we were hit by Hurricane Rita. I wanted her to evacuate with me, but she wanted to go with a friend. We've evacuated before and just came home, so I didn't really worry about it. She went west to Houston and I went to North Louisiana. She and her friend's family went to help other family members cut trees away from and off the roof of their trailer on the lake. The uncle had a heat stroke and stayed in ICU for many days. I had to make arrangements for someone to pick her up from the hospital there and take her back to Houston to stay with them. The uncle never recovered enough to talk or be out of bed. He spent a small amount of time at home, but they could not provide the treatment he needed. Driving back home, I was totally unprepared for the devastation I saw. I stayed with her in Houston and worked from there. When we came home she was very distraught over the distruction Hurricane Rita, a natural disaster caused. Her grandparents home was flooded and needed major repairs. They stayed in a pop-up camper in the driveway and put their household goods in a shipping trailer. We stayed in our 1977 mobile home for a while, but it leaked a different place every time it rained and continued to shift on the piers. Students were distraught that they didn't know where their friends were, or if the friends had a place to come back to. The school was closed for at least a month for repairs. Now we have unresolved the heat stroke, loss of friends, and damage that you just couldn't get away from. Two and a half years later, there are still a lot of people suffering from depression. Many have not completed repairs or have not moved back into their homes.

That was September. In November, her father dropped dead. He was an alcoholic. We divorced when she was in Kindergarten. He hadn't made any effort to see her or contact her since Fifth grade. They met in August when we were called to court by the Attorney General's office regarding non-payment of child support. A few weeks before his death, he moved to Arkansas, stayed with family and got a job as a used car salesman - first job in years! He said he quit drinking and smoking. We went to a counselor in January thinking that she was suffering from unresolved issues about her dad. Could they have had a relationship? Would he have stayed away from alcohol? Did God wait until he started changing his life so he would have a better aspect as he died? She came up with a lot of questions with no answers. Her counseling sessions got postponed because a group of girl athletes were in a bus wreck and there were several deaths. It was determined they needed help more than she did. (End of Flashback)

It can take two or three years, or never, or something in-between, to get over PTSD. I can't imagine she'll ever truly be over it. The time she spent in the hospital with therapy and order were invaluable to her - and to me. Having a diagnosis was a relief, even though as you start researching, it's really not something you want to have! She has continued visits to the psychiatrist and adjusting medications. She quit school and passed her GED with flying colors. I knew it would relieve a lot of stress getting her out of school. She made amazing leaps in recovering without the daily pressure. She has continued with therapy. Last summer, 2007, was two years from the first trigger event. I was so proud of where she was in healing and knew she would continue to get better. It's just a slow road.

I came home one day last fall and she requested a sit down talk. (Oh, Lord!) She had watched Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer show on National Geographic. We both like the show and have better pets from following some of his advise. This episode was about a lady training a Psychiatric Service Dog. "Mom, I want one. It will make a difference in my life." I wondered how hard this would be to research. It was surprisingly easy! The more I learned, the more I was certain that she would develop independence and be able to resume activities that other people do, with the assistance of a service dog companion. I was very impressed by what I learned.

Finding a Service Dog is not as easy as researching the in's and out's and ADA requirements and legalities. Google found an organization about 100 miles away, in Houston. When she said, "It will make a difference in my life", I never imagined how much the difference would be.

I want to share some of the PTSD sites I found and hope I can help you in supporting a family member or friend with PTSD. I'll save the story of Gabriel, "Gabe" and De for another day, maybe another Lens. I have a lot of Service Dog information to share, too!