And the other Drama Is......

Kent.

My 17 year old son who has decided apparently to completely lose his mind.

As I have to be careful with what identifying info I give out, I can tell you that Kent is special needs. Not because of his brain but because of his body. He had cancer when he was very young, and the tumor paralyzed him from the mid chest down. Due to this paralysis he has several medical conditions that require CONSTANT monitoring.

We have pushed him to be more in charge of his own care, and have had to resort to such penalties for not making the right choices, like taking away video games, TV, movies, time away with friends.... all the stuff a teen loves to do. He hasn't played video games (except for special occasions) for almost 3 years.

Still he continues to resist even the slightest hint of personal responsibility. He will be 18 in less then a year, and legally able to leave my house. Nothing I can do about it. If I told you he was even close to being able to take care of himself, would be lying to every single one of you.

This Boy has not brushed his teeth, washed his face, or combed his hair in over a week.

He is on several prescription medications which he hasn't taken on a regular basis for weeks. Not taking these drugs could kill him.

He has a procedure that he MUST perform several times a day that allows him to urinate. This has to be a "clean" procedure, yet I have not seen his hand soap or sanitizer move from it's current place in almost a week. He also has to sanitize the equipment that he uses every time he does this, but he only does it half assed at best. This behavior could cause him to get an infection that could very well kill him.

He has "Diabetic" skin, and need to be elevating his feet. He doesn't. He has gotten a pressure sore on his foot that we have been trying to heal for almost a year. Every time we get it right there, he does something slack and it breaks down again. An infection in his foot could cause him to lose his leg, or his life.

He is supposed to spend at least an hour a day "Standing" up in his stander. He hasn't done this on a consistent basis since May. I even cancelled the newspaper because we required him to be in his stander to read it.

Therapy you ask?? Done it. He refuses to talk. He will sit there and literally make up lies about the things that happen in the house to the point where I end up spending more time with the doc then he does.

I am scared for him.

Next year when he can leave, if he does, I know where he will go. He doesn't have a chance in hell of making a life worth anything if he does. Everything I have done for him in the last almost 7 years, has been to ready him for adulthood. We used to make such progress, and yes I know he is 17, and a male, but it just seems like he doesn't care about himself or any of us even to take good care of himself.

The Cancer almost killed him. Now I am afraid that he is going to kill himself.

It has been discussed that it may be time for some type of serious intervention.

The residential kind.

I was in a group homes as a kid, and they were ok, but Kent and I don't have the same issues.

So I hesitate, because I don't want him to hate me for basically sending him away. I know he will think it is because of the Turtle, but in all honesty, I don't feel like I can help him anymore then I have.

I love him. Deeply.

I have fought to keep him alive.

I fought to adopt him and give him a home where he could feel safe and loved.

So why do I feel like I just keep getting sucker punched right in the face every time I look at him??

I want to watch him grow up. Go off to college. Get married. Have babies of his own.

I just wish he wanted it as much as I do.