Marie's Agoraphobia, Monophobia & OCD - review of 2009

Marie's condition a year ago can be accessed here.

Marie's agoraphobia level fluctuated wildly during 2009, but at the end of the year, it was worse than when I met her in 1999. She had been improving, but when she stopped taking her medication on a regular basis - on two separate occasions - she was severely punished with a plethora of physical and psychological maladies.  It took more than two months for these to abate.  Mess with medication at your peril!

Marie can, at the start of 20010...

• Stay at home on her own, as long she knows that is at least one safe person at home nearby and I am less than 60 miles away.  This is a little better than last year when I had to be less than 30 mile away.
• Go out in a car, with a safe person, almost anywhere - although her level of anxiety when out is unpredictable
  
• Walk 2 - 3 metres from our car/home/a safe place. This is back to the 2000 level & hasn't changed since last year.
• Stay in any non-threatening place (e.g. a house) with a selection of "safe" people, as long as they can drive and there is a car close by. This is unchanged since last year, but worse than 2000.

Marie cannot, at the start of 2010 -

• Be alone anywhere, if I am more than 60 miles away. Slight improvement on 2009.
  
• Be alone at any time (see above for exceptions)
  
• Walk more than 3 metres outside our building. Same as 2009.
  
• Walk more than 2 metres from a car in an open area
  
• Go anywhere, except by car and accompanied by a safe person
• Go into any large building - e.g. supermarkets, the doctors' surgery, hospital, office blocks - or go more than 4 metres away from the door of small buildings. This is a very small improvement from last year, but similar to 2000.
  

The symptoms of Marie's monophobia have become a little less severe.  She is most definitely less anxious when I am absent from our home.  This has helped me in my business and has also allowed me to take the children more often and with a lot less stress.

Marie's OCD has improved slightly.  One day, without warning, she bought herself a new handbag (purse) - one which was only half the size of her old one.  She hasn't filled it either, so it is a more normal weight.  It doesn't sound like much, but in this one area, it's a major improvement.

Autism, carers and Christmas

Since moving into his current home in Taunton, Colm has become increasingly settled.  He has less anxiety and fewer and smaller episodes of challenging behaviour.

Despite from breaking his wrist, Colm had a good Christmas season.  This is Colm's ideal Christmas Day -

• Arrive at Dad's house (mine) at 2 pm
• Give and receive Christmas presents - especially receive!
• Get the main Christmas present he's been wanting for months (this year it was a Sony PS3)
  
• Christmas dinner - must be traditional fare! - at 3 pm
• Ring Mum after dinner to thank her for the money she sent for Christmas, and tell her not to forget to send money for his birthday
• Play computer games, sometimes solo and sometimes with one of the other boys
• Christmas supper around 7:30 pm
• Go home around 9 pm
• Bed at 11 pm

Colm didn't know until Boxing day that he had incurred a minor wrist fracture.  Colm had broken his wrist before, so going to hospital for treatment was familiar to him and thus not stressful.  The rest of the day was spent setting up and playing with his Sony PS3.

On 27th December, Colm once again came to my house, this time to see his Aunt (my sister, my only sibling).  He hasn't seen her since she moved to Jersey, 2 years ago and had been anticipating this visit for a long time.  Thirty seconds after seeing her, he was bored and spent the rest of his visit playing computer games.  He had an enjoyable time.

Colm started 2010 in a really happy frame of mind.  His living accommodation is provided by a company who specialise in caring for autistic people.  Their clients are, where possible, housed in small units.  Routines are established, maintained and only varied when absolutely necessary.  His care package has been developped in consultation with me and the local Social Services department.  I receive monthly reports and there are bi-annual meetings to review Colm's care.  Over the last couple of years this has produced the successful regime in place today.

I don't know if this kind of care provision is available in other parts of the UK or even anywhere else in the world, but I believe that Colm is really fortunate - as am I, as his primary carer - to be living in accommodation which is almost tailor made for him.

Agoraphobia and snow

It's really, really pretty around these parts.  And quiet.  Very quiet.  No buses, few lorries and fewer tourists.  We have been fortunate.  It snows during the nights and there's wall-to-wall sunshine during the days.  It was a little breezy, but that's gone away.

Marie's anxiety level is lower than usual in snowy surroundings.  I expected her to be asking her usual What If (...ambuances can't get into the area?  ...the shops run out of food?  ...our cars get blocked in?   etc.) questions, but they have been thin on the ground.  She's remarkably settled and only checks the online BBC weather forecast a few times per day (lol).

The children are off school.  First of all there was too much snow and the teachers couldn't get into the school.  Now the playground is too icy.  I expect they'll be off again tomorrow - probably because they'll think that it's not worth opening for only one day...  The children are loving it.  They toboggan on the hills, slide on the ice and have snowball fights.

Some of my staff haven't been able to make it to work, so I have to do a lot more work at the "customer interface" (business jargon).  Which I'm able to do, since there are no school runs at the moment.

Everyone in our area is in good spirits.  Yes, the weather is causing some inconveniences, but everything looks so beautiful that it compensates for this.  The local police have only one 4x4 vehicle, so they are pottering around their offices, spring cleaning .  The few naughty people who live around here prefer to break the law in better weather.  This is a laid-back sort of area.  No high-powered, time-regulated, stressed-out, big business tycoons live here!

One of my branches is 25 miles from here, but the main road is closed for road works.  The alternative is a route through scenic Exmoor, adding about 10 miles to the journey.  However, the roads in Exmoor are mostly blocked with snow and/or ice, so I have to take an alternative route using only main roads.  Now the journey is 80 miles!

Apart from having to do that long alternative hourney a couple of times, life is good around here!

The pictures were taken about a mile from my home.  In the one below, South Wales is visible on the horizon across the sea.  Click on the pictures if you want to see them somewhat larger.