Here is the email I just sent to my sister:
[name redacted],
Under no circumstances should mom be administered ECT. She shouldn’t be taking Haldol, either. Is Halifax hospital stuck in the 1960s or something? This is ridiculous.
Wikipedia says, “[haldol] is by far more active against ‘positive’ psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, etc.) than against ‘negative’ symptoms (social withdrawal, etc.).”
Mom didn’t start HAVING any delusions or hallucinations (as far as we know) until AFTER they started pumping her full of all these antipsychotic drugs, some of which the doctors admitted have no proven benefits. She DID show “social withdrawal” prior to all this. If anything, haldol seems like the exact OPPOSITE of what she should be taking.
I know you’re frustrated. I’m frustrated, too. I don’t know what to tell you.
I wouldn’t freak out too much about the Ford thing. Nobody is going to put mom in jail for not paying her car loan payments from years ago; I don’t care if there are a dozen warrants out for her arrest. She’s been in a state-run hospital and / or mental ward for the last five months. If “the law” wanted her in jail so badly, they would have done it. Hell, she would probably get better (free!) medical care if she WAS in prison. We can deal with stupid stuff like that later.
If you want to look into getting one of those $20 “power of attorney” packages from Office Depot or whatever, that’s okay with me. I’d still want to let [name redacted]’s dad review it first before we actually file anything anywhere. (He’s a lawyer.) I’ll try to look into that more, too.
David Vincent Gagne