Prayer for Noah

Discussion in 'Christian Issues' started by Brenda, Jan 1, 2015.

  1. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    I have some of you on my Facebook friends list but this is a post you won't see on my timeline because of the sensitivity of it.

    I'm asking you to be praying for our Noah. I was at work yesterday when a supervisor came to get me for a phone call. When I went out to the lobby, the company VP told me "Your father is on the phone, your son OD'd". I was dumbfounded to say the least thinking 'what are you talking about, dad is dead'. She passed me the phone and I answered it to dead air.... I honestly wondered it it was some kind of a sick prank joke. They managed to take the call off hold and I would hear my husband tell me that Noah had taken 10 of the anti-depressants he was prescribed. Tracy had told me what the plan of action was (activated charcoal) and said I didn't need to leave work (yeah right! like I was focused at that point).

    The VP told me to leave, a supervisor offered to drive me to the hospital but I said I was ok and took off on the tear (speeding to the hospital once I hit the highway).

    Noah was given 2 bottles of activated charcoal to drink/gag on. He managed to drink the last of it just before they were going to put an NG tube into his stomach to clean it out. They kept him until late in the evening for observation (because it was a slow release medication).

    I was home briefly at supper time to get changed and to call mom and a couple other pertinent people.

    Noah is home with us now and there will be BIG BIG changes coming, starting today.

    Every single pill in this house (Advil, Tylenol, Gravol, diabetes meds, etc) is going to be put under lock and key. Every household cleaning agent in this house is going to be locked up in a cupboard. There are no disposable razors in our home anymore - Noah figured out how to break them apart and had been using them to cut himself (because we locked up all the knives in the house some time ago).

    I never dreamed I would have to "baby proof" my home for a 16 year old but it's where we're at and what I feel safest doing right now. The remainder of the anti-depressants were thrown out at the hospital at my request. There isn't a chance on earth that I'm going to give him another one (when the warning all over the top quarter of the website shows increased suicidal tendencies in teenagers with the use of it). I was apprehensive about putting him on them to begin with.... THIS is why.

    Pray that I can find a GOOD Christian counselor for him - the one he has been seeing only sees him at school and clearly it isn't enough.

    Pray for guidance for us as a family as we move forward from this.
     
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  3. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    The scariest thing in the world! I'm so with you, sweetie! Praying hard! Check for a PM.
     
  4. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Same here. We're holding your hand through all this, and praying for you, Tracy, and Noah.
     
  5. valleyfam

    valleyfam New Member

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    Oh my heart just breaks for you....I'm praying God will lead you to the right help. Hugs and prayers!!
     
  6. sloan127

    sloan127 Active Member

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    Praying for all of you. So glad he was found in time! So scary.
     
  7. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    In the midst of this, I see many blessing already (and saw them the day of this happening).
    1) I'm not reporting to you that he's seriously sick because of it (or worse)
    2) It was an impulsive action as opposed to something thought out. Still serious no matter what but not as bad as it would have been had it been preplanned (had it been preplanned, he would have been sent to the regional hospital for admission to the psychiatric unit for treatment)
    3) He knew enough after he took the pills to tell a friend. His friend called his mom at work who was working with Tracy and he made it home to call 911
    4) VERY thankful for Tracy's coworker who drove him home

    I've asked our pastor's to recommend a Christian counselor and am waiting a response. We've taken the necessary precautions at home locking up anything that he might get into to hurt himself.

    We've had intense conversations about all of this. I had told Noah before he went out yesterday that he can talk to us about anything, anytime of the day. It hurt to hear him say "You're not always able to talk because you're always working". That was a (reality) punch in the stomach and I have decided to give my notice for the part time I have that will allow me to be home a couple hours earlier daily to have the time to spend with him. I had only planned to keep my part time job until my client went back into the hospital but my son's life is far more important to me. I told my clients wife this tonight at supper time and she totally understands my reasoning for it.

    God is in control!
     
  8. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Brenda, there will ALWAYS be that "You can't talk because of work". There will always be something. So please don't take that comment personal. I mean, WE HAVE TO WORK at something, whether it be outside the home, or working at maintaining the house. The secret is to somehow let the kids know that THEY ARE IMPORTANT ENOUGH to get our attention. And sometimes they may need to really knock us over the side of the head and yell, "HEY!!! THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! PAY ATTENTION!!!" (And that's NOT saying you were "wrong" in giving notice. You are right in that your son is more important!)

    I hear what you say about how by calling a friend it shows he really didn't want to kill himself. He wanted help, and he managed to get it. Thankfully, his friend knew enough to get adult help! Am glad to see the conversations have started. This can be a very positive thing (or rather, God can use for good what Satan meant for evil!)
     
  9. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    It hurt to hear him say it only because I went from working 20 hours a week at one job to 55 hours between two jobs - a huge change for me and a shock to him as well. I had been debating on giving up the part time job for a variety of reasons - this was just the final straw in making that decision.

    What a harsh wake up call
     
  10. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    Kids will always find a way to blame parents rather than themselves. It's the nature of the beast, so to speak. It's like they can't just put it out there that HEY I NEED.... whatever. It gets better from here.
     
  11. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    I covet more prayer for Noah:

    His girl friend broke up with him today (on snap chat - what ever that is) and he's pretty broken over it. Yes, that relationship needed to end but I was hoping Noah would break up with her so it would be easier on him but such isn't the case.

    He's "down" tonight but he went to youth with his brother and some friends. Everything harmful to him is locked up. He's desperately trying to hold on to the relationship... he needs to let it go and to be at peace with it.

    It's hard to watch his heart break.
     
  12. valleyfam

    valleyfam New Member

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    Hugs and prayers. Not looking forward to that age. Hopefully going to youth group tonight will be uplifting.
     
  13. vantage

    vantage Active Member

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    I hope that he is in a more positive mood soon and discontinues the suicidal thinking. I cannot imagine such an event taking place with my kids. I am sorry that you are all going through this. It must be frightening.

    Seek psychiatric evaluation in addition to talk therapy. He might need to be on a medication longer term and might not be on the correct one at this point.
     
  14. Brenda

    Brenda Active Member

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    He has been seeing a counselor since last fall. I can't say that I care much for her type of therapy - she's all for medications, I admit I'm not. She had him convinced that he needed to be on an anti-depressant when we weren't seeing a depression that warranted medications. Situational depression? Absolutely but he is otherwise his happy go lucky self, doing his usual activities.

    His counselor made the referral back to the pediatric psychiatrist who oversees his ADHD medications. I'm not sure that she thought he needed the anti-depressants either but Noah insisted he did "Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them" was what he told her (this is the same message that was given to him by the counselor). She prescribed one based on that train of thought. I was apprehensive about putting him on it even after I had been to the pharmacy to pick them up but we decided to try it.

    After the OD on New Year's Eve, you can imagine how medication is not sitting well with me (especially so when you look it up on my drug guide reference and the first 1/4 of my screen flashes bold warnings about increased suicidal thoughts in teens).

    His moods were stable until his girl friend broke up with him last week (for someone else) and it's been an emotional roller coaster since then. They're trying to remain friends but with every message they send to each other becomes a fight so we're trying to get him to leave it alone - to give it some time before they talk to each other. Even now in the midst of the worst of it all, he is still his happy go lucky self, he's just struggling hard to let go and move on and this is when we see the negative thoughts and actions.

    I almost took him to the ER on Saturday night (his lowest point) to ask them to give him something to calm his nerves. It's so hard to see him struggle with it as much as he has been (a simple question to her "do you need a drive to go swimming tomorrow?" turned into a huge fight. He went through the house stomping, throwing things, punching walls (including the tub surround) etc.

    And so I continue to count the blessings in this: his counselor asked him who his 3 "go to" people are - his father, best friend and I are those three people. I'm blessed that our relationship is so strong that we're his go to when most teens wouldn't list their parents as that.

    I know that God is in control of this and He will turn this trial into triumph... in His way and in His timing. Until that time, I wait and pray for a positive outcome.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2015
  15. hermione310

    hermione310 New Member

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    Your son is blessed to have such loving and concerned parents. It sounds like you've done everything you can to establish a close, trusting relationship, which is quite a feat to achieve with any teenager.

    I will be praying for you. Hang in there.
     

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