Thursday, March 29, 2007

In Which We Descend Into The 11th Circle of Hell

The System. You cant beat it. Even if you join it you cant beat it because you dont want to get your ass sued. And even if you make it to the top of the system and cant be sued then you still have to work within legislation which those in REAL power wrote so they would get re-elected and not so it would actually work for the benefit of those whom it covers.

The System: 1. Panda: Nil.

And normally I would be kicking and screaming all the way to the District Court yelling as loud as I could to anyone that would listed about how completely FUCKED it is to allow two people for whom there are "grave concerns" about their wellbeing and ability to cope at home TO ACTUALLY GO HOME and about HOW can one make a determination about someone's mental incapacity when it is acceptable for that person to REFUSE a psych assessment and therefore an application for Guardianship is denied because there isnt enough evidence AND how is it even ethical to do so when that person is the CARER for someone who has been deemed to have a mental incapacity but no, HE doesnt need a Guardian either because this woman over here, THE ONE WHOM WE CANT ASSESS BECAUSE SHE REFUSES BUT WE'RE HEAPS CONCERNED SHE'S NOT QUITE RIGHT IN THE HEAD, HEY, she's going to be his carer.

Normally. But now I have a Small, Somewhat Burrito-Shaped Item who kinda needs his mamma to be around and not be climbing the walls with frustration and RAGE at this system that gives carte blanch to old people to go home and die.

So my parents are at home. My mother hates me and has even gone so far as to make the statement to the Board that I "never did anything to get them help" [A-HEM], the social worker, who while very nice and I'm sure the best thing mum could have at this point, is very naive about how my mother operates and is in for a rude shock, my father is oblivious to the whole thing, and my brother... Well, my brother is about to get the following email. I hate him like poison.


Dear Fuckhead,

Today you said some things that I have to address, if only to get them out of my brain so I can get on with my life and not keep dwelling on how angry I am.

You based your allegation about my suitability for our father's Medical Power of Attorney on what exactly? My behaviour at the hospital the night my parents were admitted, you claimed. What behaviour was that exactly?
  • Was it the fact that I stayed at the hospital until midnight in Emergency with my 6 month old son?
  • Was it the fact that I made sure someone was with him once our mother had been taken to hospital so that he was not left to fend for himself alone for a whole weekend because the doctor wouldnt do anything for him?
  • Was it the fact that I called an ambulance in the first place so that our father was not at home choking to death?
  • Was it the fact that I made sure that the hospital had as much information as I could give them about their medical status and history?
  • Was it that I made sure the doctors were aware that the growth on his face needed to be looked at? Lucky I did, hey, since it was cancerous.
  • Was it the fact that I had to request an ACAT Assessment be done for them to make sure that they werent just sent home?
What other decisions have I made that havent been in his interests? Was it being the person who pushed and pushed to get a diagnosis for him? If I hadnt insisted upon a referral to a specialist, there would STILL be no diagnosis. If I hadnt taken him to all his appointments for the majority of my pregnancy he would not have gone.

Your transparent attempt at maligning me fooled no-one today. If you want to make allegations that I cannot be trusted to make medical decisions for our father they'd better be backed up by some damned good evidence next time.

Truly, you are diabolical to me. I cannot understand your need to deny our family history. What do you gain from trying to sweep decades of abuse under the carpet? Do you somehow asuage your guilt by doing this? Is it the only way you can live with the fact that you knew what was happening to our mother and you knew what was happening to me when I was a child, yet you did nothing to protect us? Even Warren had the guts, the sensitivity, to apologise to me for not being there for me when I was a child.

It makes me sick to think that you want to rewrite history and pretend that it was a mere "difficult relationship" that has now "weathered the storm". Domestic violence should NEVER be ignored in this way and I cannot believe that as someone who has been called out to surely countless DV incidents is so willing to ignore it and diminish it in his own family. Our parents have not "weathered the storm". Our mother was battered by our father since the very early days of their marriage. The ONLY reason this stopped is dad's decline from dementia. As his dementia progressed his personality changed and lucky for mum it was into a placid, doddering old man. The way you minimise the dysfunction in their relationship and our family is so reminiscent of the behaviour of the perpetrators of the sexual assault on me 5 years ago that it makes my skin crawl.

I dont know why you have such a low opinion of me. I have never known and I probably will never know. At this point I dont even care. I scratch myhead about it and wonder in an anthropological/psychological exercise kind of way, but that remains the extent of it. I doubt that even you could tell me. I know I have absolutely done the right thing with regard to ensuring the welfare of our parents and somehow I have managed to rise above my upbringing and become a decent, well-adjusted human being despite my family.

Methinks that when you have yelled at me that I am just like our mother (and you mean that in a bad way) that in reality, you are projecting your beliefs about yourself on to me. I see so much of mum's behaviour in you (particularly the denial of reality and rewriting of history to fit your agenda) that I really hope your kids have been paying attention to whats been going on here. I fear that this will be their story in 30 years.

Good luck with the Administrator role. I hope you can sort out the financial mess.

I'm done here.

11 comments:

  1. Good Lord. What a well written letter! I applaud your strength and your verbiage, and I'm so sorry you had such a fucked up family of origin. Toxic people should not be in your life. I wish you all the best in deadling with them and kindest wishes to you, Spudly and Monkey Boy. You certainly deserve it! (((Many hugs to you!!!)))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Panda,
    I am so sorry. After all you have been through and done... I am just so sorry. Truly.
    Best,
    Jessica

    ReplyDelete
  3. You're fabulous, you truly are. Simply fabulous. Your family are sick, all in their own twisted way, and always have been. What have they ever been to you but abusers? I am so grateful for Spudly, because without him you might be dragged into the old wars again, and these are wars where you'd be the casualty, regardless.

    So, ballsy woman, keep telling them all to fawk off. That email was an art piece.

    (Lioness-Johnny here, not The. Blogger must be related to you.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7:20 am

    Siiiigh.

    As you say, none of this is remotely surprising in the least. Can I say though, that ultimately, I am so relieved that you have (for better or worse) been relieved of having to be responsible for these people. If only because I know what this does to you, and ultimately, you can't change any of their dysfunction anyway. In light of that, I so much prefer to have you and your family protected from ALL of it.

    Let me know if you need to me to tackle Fucktard again.

    Love you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:21 am

    Considering past things you've said of your brother's fuckheadedness, I can imagine he might be of that good ole opinion that abuse should be kept quiet and its victims, if they are of any moral fibre, should be too ashamed to speak of it. The fact that you are willing to speak of the abuse your mum went through and your own rape means, in his filtered version of the world, that you're not ashamed, therefore you must be... PROUD. He probably thinks that any woman who would stand in front of a courtroom, or her family, or an anonymous victims' group, and say "I was raped" must be proud of the fact. He probably hates anyone who voices the fact that these things happen in society, because the unChristian forces gain strength if people admit they're happening.

    I'm not a psycho, or a Christian. I'm just playing devil's advocate and trying to put myself in your brother's head. And let me tell you, it's a disgusting skanky place in here. No wonder he's such an arsewipe.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:34 pm

    fuck them fuck them FUCK THEM ALL.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Allo sparklicious most pandalike wharfie (and brother) walloping one! In spite of some fairly sizable twists and turns in the ever unfolding journey you maintain your stunningly eloquent and sane perspective - love ya guts and sending shedloads of luvveryly Brisneyland sunshine to you and the boys. Keep shining xxx (also you know you can always call mum and dad if and whenever you may need them - I know they love and cherish you mob like I do! xxx)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very eloquent, very intelligent and very final.
    Although I'm sure he will try to retaliate.
    If it were me, I would change my email and withdraw-myself-from-the-battle-as-the war-is-over kind of mentality that I have.
    You deserve happiness now with your boys.
    You are a wonderful, decent person despite what you have been through that could have moulded you into something very different. And I applaud that with all my heart.

    Congratulations to you for your strength of character, your resilience and your determination to do the right thing.
    I hope you manage to get some rest
    x

    ReplyDelete
  9. how much do you rock?
    tenthousand.
    we must talk about this some more. i can't believe it all came to this.
    bah humbug.
    how much under a rock have i been?
    fucking pain, i tells you, rules your life.
    hope your spud related illnesses are less sicklor today!
    mwa mwa.
    xJ

    ReplyDelete
  10. how much do you rock?
    tenthousand.
    we must talk about this some more. i can't believe it all came to this.
    bah humbug.
    how much under a rock have i been?
    fucking pain, i tells you, rules your life.
    hope your spud related illnesses are less sicklor today!
    mwa mwa.
    xJ

    ReplyDelete
  11. leelu2:43 am

    fuck them fuck them FUCK THEM ALL.

    ReplyDelete

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