My apologies, I've not really introduced myself here properly, but I am batgirl's uncle. We had a big problem with her tonight so I needed to write.
I have returned from a short trip to the base. I knew it was upsetting my niece, my going to the base and then coming back. She was "triggered" as they say. Things seemed fine however until about an hour after I arrived. Niece then says to me, uncle do you really have to go to Afghanistan. (I am deployed in January.) Please don't go. And starts crying. Cries a long time, then starts saying through tears, I want my dad. I want my brother. Kathy my wife then says, your dad and brother are dead. Wrong thing to say I suspect, as my niece then covers her ears and starts screaming at the top of her lungs. So I slapped her. Rotten thing to do, and I feel rotten about it, but there you go. It stopped her screaming, but she still cried until she made herself physically ill in the toilet several times.
Same time as this is going on, the wife calls the crisis line. They advise we can take her into the emergency room, but at this hour it will be a 6 hour wait for a psych doctor. So **** it, gave her gravol and a sleeping pill and put her to bed.
Exhausted now and hope we at least did something right in this mess.
Jim.
I have returned from a short trip to the base. I knew it was upsetting my niece, my going to the base and then coming back. She was "triggered" as they say. Things seemed fine however until about an hour after I arrived. Niece then says to me, uncle do you really have to go to Afghanistan. (I am deployed in January.) Please don't go. And starts crying. Cries a long time, then starts saying through tears, I want my dad. I want my brother. Kathy my wife then says, your dad and brother are dead. Wrong thing to say I suspect, as my niece then covers her ears and starts screaming at the top of her lungs. So I slapped her. Rotten thing to do, and I feel rotten about it, but there you go. It stopped her screaming, but she still cried until she made herself physically ill in the toilet several times.
Same time as this is going on, the wife calls the crisis line. They advise we can take her into the emergency room, but at this hour it will be a 6 hour wait for a psych doctor. So **** it, gave her gravol and a sleeping pill and put her to bed.
Exhausted now and hope we at least did something right in this mess.
Jim.