There’s a good memoir by Joan Didion called The Year of Magical Thinking in which she describes the way her mind tried to make sense of her husband’s sudden death and their daughter’s life-threatening illness.
I’m fascinated by magical thinking…I think we all employ it, to different degrees – we wish on stars and knock on wood, wear lucky socks and read into coincidences. I remember the poem I posted in this entry, My Son is Safe, where I admitted to all kinds of magical thinking in a desperate, almost frantic attempt to manage fear and anxiety when it comes to Boo. Today, though, I’m just repeating to myself he’s okay. He’s okay.
Because he is. The team of people who work with Jonah responded quickly to my plea, and he’s okay. Just hours after I emailed the letter in the last entry, I got a response telling me they’ve scheduled a meeting for 11am the next day (yesterday) and also put Jonah on an emergency 1:1 protocol both at the house and day program, which means he’s within arm’s reach of a direct care staff person assigned just to him. This person also stays between him and any door, and keeps an eye on his bedroom door when he’s in there but does not limit his movement within the house.
During the meeting, the team listened to my concerns and talked about different ways they’re working hard to keep Jonah safe. Briana joined and asked great questions, all of which were answered. Some of this is from the official plan they implemented and sent to me:
They’re working on putting chime alarms on the doors and activating the delayed egress magnetic locking systems already in place. The mechanisms have a 15 second delay and piercing alarm. The door will stay locked for 15 seconds before it will open unless a code is entered. When someone attempts to open the door, the alarm will sound and the magnetic holds the door for 15 seconds which will give staff time to get to him, if he does get ahead of them.
The 1:1 should keep Jonah busy with good activities, as it was discussed this could be an attention seeking behavior, and if that is the case the 1:1 should help meet that need. If it does not, we may need to look at other potential reasons for the increase in challenging behaviors that have been occurring, not confined to the running away. Staff providing 1:1 supervision will have the house cell phone on their person. The house cell phone will have the house number saved in the event that Jonah elopes and staff need additional support. They will also have a recent picture of Jonah on their person.
Every staff member who works with Jonah will also be trained in detailed emergency protocol if he does get out – they’ll follow him on foot, encourage him to come back, and remain close enough to maintain sight. If staff lose sight of him, they’ll immediately call 911 and provide details such as what Jonah was wearing and where he was last seen. Then staff will return to the house vehicle and drive around the location where Jonah was last seen to attempt to locate him. If staff locate him, they will get out and encourage Jonah to get into the vehicle and return to the residence.
I’m still very anxious and nervous, but also I’m so grateful – and glad to say I feel like everyone involved in Jonah’s life is taking this very seriously. We’re blessed to have so many people in our corner.
Thank you all for reading, and caring.
I’ll be back with more updates – hopefully, positive ones!
The Never Normal 