| Update on Andy |
A couple of months ago, Andy called my mother, asking if she'd get him a copy of his birth certificate. Why? Turns out, while he was briefly hospitalized, his wallet was stolen. In his wallet was his birth certificate, his photo ID, and his winning lottery ticket.
Horrified, my mother asked him if he'd reported it to the police. Andy's response:
"I'm a mental patient. They'd think I was making it up and would say I just misplaced it."
After recently reading stories about mental patients being ignored and allowed to die in corridors (NC) and waiting rooms (NYC), I can believe my son.
On the bright side, he's out of the hospital and has a small subsidized apartment in a facility where there are other men like him who have mental illnesses or addictions to overcome. They have social workers and access to their medication. This is probably how Andy will live, indefinitely. It hasn't stopped him, however, from getting a girlfriend!
I like to think that having his lottery ticket stolen is a blessing in disguise. I think that the moment the government got wind of his winnings, his benefits would have been cut or terminated. A loss of a short term gain - in exchange for longer term benefits.
I only wish he'd write! |
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Name: Melanie O.
Home: Durham, North Carolina, United States
About Me: Female, American health and beauty-conscious professional who has rekindled a childhood love of dolls.
See my profile...
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posted by Melanie O. at 
