American health care rocks!

[WT Fuheck]

I mean sucks rocks.

Saturday evening one of my siblings attempted suicide. The sibling has good insurance. 18 hours later, the sibling was released to me--exhausted, rushed to the ER the night before still half in my pajamas and haven't slept at all me. Now I have my sibling in my home, giving primary care, hoping to hell they don't off themselves in my living room while I'm working my 18-hour double-plus-shift tomorrow. WTFuheck do I know about taking care of a massively depressed person?

I think we should give these insurance companies more of our money. Hell maybe the government should *force* us to give them our money. That will make things better, won't it?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That is just wrong.

Your sibling should be in a psychiatric hospital, under observation, getting professional help. PERIOD.

You are not responsible for this person, sibling or not.

I hope some help is forthcoming......for BOTH of you.

:hug:

[WT Fuheck]

2. Thank you.

It was a pretty classic "cry for help" attempt. This afternoon, there was no imminent danger to the sibling or others and no physiologically compelling health issue, so it did not meet the insurance company criteria for admission. They did set up an outpatient consultation for tomorrow, but we don't have transportation.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Can you get a voucher for a cab ride?

Or is there a friend who could help?

There has to be a way.

I am so sorry.

:hug:

[WT Fuheck]

5. I'll just pay for a cab (like I paid the $100 ER co-pay)

I don't care about the money. There's another car available across town. Maybe a friend can help me retrieve it.

The ER staff were good. The "treatment" was almost non-existent. This sucks.

[cbdo2007]

11. Why are you acting like this is such a big deal and then call it a classic "cry for help" attempt?

You're basically explaining exactly why they released the person to you. It wasn't a serious attempt, it was a "cry for help" and based on their assessment which you apparently support, the person was not a true risk.

Hey, I agree it sucks that you're the one responsible for your sibling but expecting he insurance company to pay for everything all of the time, regardless of the circumstances is unreasonable.

[WT Fuheck]

26. If I hadn't correctly interpreted a couple of unusual text messages and called 911,

my sibling would have died. Thanks for your compassion. I would have thought after a suicide attempt that a few days of hospitalization and some counseling would have been reasonable. I have no problem being responsible for a sibling. I don't know where you're from, but that's what we call "family" in my family. I'm not a qualified psych evaluator, social worker or counselor, which is what my sibling needs.

But then the privatized insurance company-owned "health care" system in this country has nothing to do with "health" and even less to do with "care."

[HBravo]

4. I hope you can find your sibling the help they need.

Good luck to you.

[WT Fuheck]

6. thanks

[Celebration]

7. On the plus side

You might know a bit more than they do. And, you are more invested.

I am praying for you..........

[WT Fuheck]

32. so far,

so good. Tomorrow is another l-o-n-g work day. My fingers are crossed. I'm torn between compassion and love on one hand and anger and frustration on the other. How could they do this? Suicide is an ultimately selfish and aggressive act directed against those who are left.

[Quantess]

8. That was wrong of the hospital to just release him/her without psychiatric care.

I think you can eventually find someone to help you if you keep calling the hospital and talk to a few different people. There must be someone there who can help you with at least a referral.

[obliviously]

9. What did they use to attempt suicide?

[WT Fuheck]

27. drugs and alcohol

LOTS of drugs and alcohol.

[inna]

10. i don't perceive much compassion towards your "sibling" in the OP.

pretty lame post.


I wish her/him the best, though.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. Perhaps if you'd been in his place...

His post might look a bit differently.

I'm sure it was a shock to him having to suddenly care for his sibling.

:shrug:

[inna]

14. his shock is obvious and understandable. it is the lack of compassion that is disconcerting.

:shrug: yourself all you want.

[Quantess]

13. I was thinking that the DUer didn't want to reveal the gender of the sibling,

and left out a lot of background information, so that no one would be able to guess or identify the person.

[obliviously]

15. It seems the OP doesn't want to reveal the method of the attempt either.

Probably hasn't thought that up yet!

[Quantess]

16. Do you think

this could be what RW stalkers call a "bouncy"?

[obliviously]

18. Hell I don't know, there just isn't much to work with!

[obliviously]

19. What do we have!

Recap: Sibling possibly attempts suicide in unknown manner for unknown reason without getting hurt. Returned to home because of no medical condition to treat but family member upset because hospital won't find reason to detain unhurt person.

[Quantess]

20. And lack of health insurance is not the problem.

I don't know what to make it either.

[obliviously]

21. I keep wating for them to break in

and get mad at me and than explain it, causing me to feel guilty!

[cbdo2007]

23. I keep waiting for the rest of DU to break in and call you both insensitive jerks

like they always do to me when I question one of these goofy "health insurance sucks" posts that doesn't really make much sense.

Maybe you all have some "DU insensitivity immunity potion" you can give me or something?

[obliviously]

25. Well I am not much on the sensitivity side.

And I can be a jerk! Just kicking back watching the show!

[WT Fuheck]

29. I've been busy making a comfortable bedroom, doing laundry,

retrieving my sibling's pets and finding care for them, cooking a meal, having a couple of long emotional talks, arranging for someone to check on things while I'm working tomorrow, trying to cancel some activities both of us had planned, dealing with gastrointestinal distress that resulted from the attempt, notifying a few friends via extremely awkward phone calls, and trying to make my sibling comfortable.

I'm sorry my posting promptness did not meet with your expectations.

[WT Fuheck]

28. whatever

[Gregorian]

17. This country is like Disneyland. I don't even know what to say.

It's like we're cattle. Or worse. It's like we're objects. No sense of dignity. What the hell is wrong with America. As if we're all just pieces of corporate equipment.

Appalling. I would think twice about going to work. What can you do.

This is a really good example of how reckless, careless, lacking in compassion, and everything else this country is. Sick. It makes me sick.

I wish and hope for the best for you and your sibling.

[branders seine]

31. We're all expendable.

Just a tiny fraction of a part of a thousandth of a percentage point on some accounting schmoe's spreadsheet, and not even that much to the wealthy prick who owns the system, us and the politicians we vote for.

[snot]

22. Worth noting:

since we now need more family members to be employed in order to support a household, and since more families are geographically split up by the need to follow jobs around, many of us have less in the way of available family to help deal with situations like this one.

[Odin2005]

24. That is DISPICABLE behavior on part of the hospital.

Oh, and the posters attacking the OP are being assholes.

[branders seine]

30. I couldn't agree more.

on both counts.

[Scruffy1]

33. You need help

Here in Minnesota an attempted suicide would be held for observation for at least three days and perhaps as a juvenile three weeks. A co-worker just had an eighteen year old step son commit suicide
and then found out about the ideation from his friends and relatives who were to oblivious to the danger
to talk to an adult about it. Its a big killer of 18-25 year old males in particular.

[WT Fuheck]

34. I agree, but knock on wood,

things are going okay so far.

Still, I don't know what to say, or what to do. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I miss some sort of sign. I'm not stupid, but I'm not a trained psychotherapist either. Tomorrow, an appointment at a clinic. I hope that happens and goes well.