The other half of the golden ticket....

...is not in hand, yet. However, we are extremely closer. Today, we created a Person Centered Plan for Vivace, along with sharing information about him, his past, our family, and what has lead us up to this moment in our journey. Vivace participated for approximately 40 minutes and was asked a few questions like: What do you like about yourself? (smart, learn fast) What do friends like about you? (friends say they like me, I am good at games and competitions)
My heart fluttered for a moment as he responded to: What do you need help with? by saying: Getting along with people, showing respect to authority, not being aggressive when I am mad.


Yes! MY SON SAID THAT! Progress! What is that saying people always use?.... You can't fix it if you don't know it is broken....He knows it is broken!!
I know it is a script answer. However, he could have said, "NOTHING!" or "F--K You!" or "It is everyone else that has to change!" That isn't what he said! He said: Getting along with people, showing respect to authority and not being aggressive when I am mad.

So after much discussion and some emotionally difficult retelling of how we got to this point, the team agreed as a whole that where he is, is the best placement for him. They also agreed he needs more time. The team Psychologist asked for the lead therapist to increase data collection on "minor" issues as well as the major. We are looking ahead to be sure we can show progress as well as the areas he still is struggling.

The Person Center plan is created for 90 days and reviewed every 90 days. Goals can range from having appropriate turn-taking conversations with his siblings to not being aggressive or threatening peers. There are many areas to work on. The goal is still reunification to our family. This is not a sprint, it is a marathon, true healing always is a marathon.

The packet and Person Centered Plan will be formally typed up by RHA(case management services) and then submitted to the LME(Local Mental Health Entity) for final approval. It will require signatures from those involved in the meeting today and a Psychologist that approves these situations. Once those signatures are gathered it will be submitted as an "out-of-state" packet. That finally approval is what will be the other half of the golden ticket. Today's meeting went well, we are all on the same page, we all have the same goal and we, now, all see the same path to get there. There will have to be an extreme rush to complete these things...as we were originally told TriCare ends Nov 6th, and are now being told that was a typo, it is Oct 6th.

This isn't a slam duck and I can't fully celebrate the victory until this stage is complete. However, it is a HUGE step forward. I am so thankful for the base school representative that phoned into the meeting, the teacher that wrote a letter of support, the primary doctor that wrote a recommendation and the psychologist who also did summary and recommendations. I am also so very blessed to have the case manager from the EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Program) and the EFMP Programs Director at the meeting to support Vivace's healing process and our family needs.

The downside or challenges we face is the time crunch primarily. Secondarily, the trips will no longer be reimbursed, which will make it slightly harder to get there as often, but right now I have to focus on the positives and how very close we are to getting the other half of the golden ticket.