#12 Soldier has had a set back

well, Soldier has had a set back... he says 2-3 days of feeling ok is all he can manage at the moment... he's frustrated, can't understand why he just can't "make it better"... I think he's coming to accept that it will be a long process.

sending things around the holidays is a very thoughtful idea... not sure what they allow (they are very strict), but I can check with the facility and see what's permitted. a lot of the guys (like Soldier) don't have family in the area to bring them things so I'm sure they'd love whatever was done...

Soldier is beside himself... he seems so much worse now -- even before he went in... no one at the facility can tell him how long he'll be there... lots of other soldiers seem to be getting pulled back to [fort], but Soldier is still there. he says his thoughts are getting darker and darker... he says he rarely sees the therapist... the doctor aks him "the three questions" every morning -- do you want to hurt yourself? do you want to hurt someone else? how are you feeling" and boom you're out the door. they changed his meds AGAIN. I don't think this guy is keeping him on any medications long enough to have a clinical effect. I can't be sure this guy knows what he's doing. and to make it worse, the guy is a new immigrant and has such a thick accent the Soldier can barely understand a word he's saying (and with the hearing loss Soldier sufferred in Iraq, he has a hard time catching all the properly spoken English words).

I can hear the frustration building in Soldier. he wants to get back to [fort], have conversations with ARMY people and find out what's going on. he would also prefer being treated by Army docs.