Thanks Hope,

I didn't take it as prying. The flood assumption is an easy one to make with 14 inches of rain in two days!

I wouldn't have shared if I hadn't felt safe to do so. Sometimes it is helpful just to let people know you have an unseen burden. My sister has been ill for many years and had numerous episodes. Fortunately she is fairly stable in between so the burden isn't constant, but this is the worst episode she has had.

Thanks for the support. I appreciate double prayers!

DejaVu,

Thank you so for your kind words. You have a real gift with those you know.

I am sorry to hear of your friend. It is heartbreaking isn't it? And there is only so much one can do. Even if you flew out could you ever find them? And if you did then what? It sounds like there are many, many similarities between your friend and my sister, though thankfully my sister isn't using. But she has been off her meds and would be homeless now if I had not intervened last week. Can't keep that up forever...

I know a time may come that I have to let go. Isn't that awful to consider? But I can't imperil my own health and even with a lot of help my sister may fail. Ultimately I feel my responsibility is to myself, my child and my spouse.
But for now I will do what I can and hope she can fly again on her own.

I appreciate your support and pray for you as well. I hope you are healing a little each day.

Littlepaw,

I am glad your sister is receptive to housing and glad you have been able to help her with housing.

My friend says she wants to be homeless.

It's tough to realize we may have to let go... and hope for the best.

I feel I have no way to help, in that my friend seems to be moving around and isn't interested in housing or a stable address at this time. It's difficult to get services for someone who does not want help/services. Our conversations seem pointless, as she has been delusional for quite some time. I cannot gain any cooperation from her, as far as securing any assistance for her. I suppose she feels a connection if she is calling, even if she is delusional. Yet, I have had to shut my phone off, as she kept calling in the middle of the night and was awakening people in the household. She has not been able to respond to boundary setting on calls in the middle of the night. Knowing the severity of her mental illness right now has made it very difficult to shut off my phone. Yet, we all need some sleep.

I, too, feel my biggest responsibility is to my household. I also need to be careful and be sure I am doing all I can in order to heal.

It's all very painful and nobody else can tell us if/when we need to let go.
It's a very individualized decision.

((((( Littlepaw )))))
((((( Littlepaw's Sister )))))

May you both feel surrounded by, uplifted by, Pure Love.


DejaVu

Littlepaw and DejaVu,

Mental illness is difficult to deal with, I have been on both sides with self destructive tendencies earlier in my life, then with my Mum's mind being destroyed by Alzheimer's but trying to keep her independent in her own home. The strain on the supporter is always almost too much to endure.

Prayers for protection to both you and your Charges.

Dave.

There you go. Dave said what I wanted to say. He is so good at that. Guess you can tell I was not an English major in college. I am a numbers person, not a word person.

Thanks DejaVu, Dave and Hope!

Dave, as usual you are a font of understanding. Experiencing the challenges from both sides must be part of where you get the empathy that we all appreciate so.

Hope, Your care and concern come shining through! You are right that self-care is an absolute must with so many different things. We really need to take notice and respond to our physical and emotional needs. That was part of why I stayed home and helped from here. I have had to be firm about boundaries concerning late phone calls and short of one night she has honored that. Because What can I possibly do in the middle of the night except get alienated from helping?

DejaVu, Yes, I too am grateful my sister is open to housing. It was partly the impending loss of it that threw her into a tailspin. I just found out last night that she is getting into a more 'permanent' short term solution we had been exploring.

She sounded brighter and more rational on the phone yesterday. Yeah!

Thanks all. I am glad I let you guys know it's not always rainbows and bonbons here in Littlepaw world.

I took a "First Responder" course several years ago and the first thing they told us was that we had to take care of ourselves FIRST, because we would NOT be able to help anyone else if WE were not OK.

It is very admirable to want to help family and others but you DO need to take care of and protect your own household members, too.

I don't have the gift of words as some here do, but I wanted to say that you can only do so much before you have to safeguard yourself.

So often, we do not realize just how blessed we are until we learn the plight of others. Not just those that have problems but also the caregivers plight as well. It is a difficult position on both sides of the coin.

Oh, I hope this comes out the way I mean it, from the heart and caring. I just don't express myself very well sometimes and things come out all wrong. My fingers type without the aid from brain activity sometimes and what is in my heart doesn't translate well onto paper.