Caroline in Richard's Mother's Womb
Chapter 8
Oshkosh is a town of about 60,000 nestled between the western shore of Lake Winnebago and Lake Butte des Morts, on the banks of the Fox River. Once a lumber mill town, it's now known for it's manufacturing firms, shopping centers, recreational activities, and educational system. Oshkosh is home to OshKosh B'Gosh, maker of children's wear, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans, … and the Givens Treatment Center, the best rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug dependency in the state of Wisconsin.
Fred and Margaret Duffy chose Givens, even though it meant quite a dip into their savings at 120 dollars a day, and a two hour drive down US 41 from Peshtigo, because their son Chris, a doctor, said it gave Caroline the best chance for a real recovery.
Caroline, Fred, and Margaret Duffy sat in the office of Dr. Smith, the administrator of Givens.
"You understand, Miss Duffy, that you are voluntarily committing yourself to this facility. And although you can choose to leave at any time, as long as you stay, you agree to abide by the rules of this facility. Any breaking of the rules can result in your release from the facility. Once you sign the papers, the money being paid for the first month of treatment is non-refundable. You can stay as long as you choose to, as long as you follow the rules, with the money for each month being paid in advance." Dr. Smith spoke in a crisp, efficient tone. "We offer a structured environment, group therapy, individual counseling, and prescription drug treatment if required. Additionally, the patients have organized groups of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous that anyone can attend. So, our success rate is high, but it depends on the patient's as much as our efforts. And continued success after the patient is released depends on their applying the lessons learned here."
Caroline sat in before Dr. Smith sullenly. She didn't really want to be there, but a lifetime of worrying about the feelings of others led her to finally yield to the wishes of her family. "I don't want to be here, but Mom, Dad, and Chris think I should be. I'll stay for a month, pretend to be better, then leave" thought Caroline. "What are the rules?" she asked.
Dr. Smith recited the rules, as he had a thousand times before. "No alcohol or drugs of any kind, except as prescribed by staff, are allowed on the premises. You are to perform your share of household tasks. You will attend all scheduled group meetings and individual therapy sessions. Although you must attend, we won't force you to participate, but you won't derive any benefits unless you do. And no 'relationships' between patients and any staff or other patients, it complicates matters too much." Caroline snickered at the last remark by Dr. Smith. "I know, you find it hard to believe that something like that could develop here. But you'd be surprised how sharing an intense emotional experience, which often occurs during therapy, can affect people."
"Okay" Caroline sighed, "Where do I sign?" Dr. Smith handed her the papers, which she signed.
Caroline's parents got up to leave. "We'll come to visit tomorrow, and as often as we can, honey, even though it is a two hour drive down here to Oshkosh" said her mother.
Dr. Smith interjected "I'm sorry, Mrs. Duffy, no contact is allowed between a patient and the outside world for the first week. We find it speeds the adjustment the patient has to make to their new life here."
"Oh man" Caroline thought. "This may be harder to skate through than I thought."
******
One week later…
Fred and Margaret came to Givens to visit, and found a sullen Caroline.
"Hey, Puddin'!" greeted Caroline's father.
"Hello, dear" said her mother.
"Hi Mom and Dad" Caroline grumpily replied, as they all sat down by a table.
Margaret chimed in "Chris said to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it".
"What's the matter? Couldn't reserve a helicopter?" Caroline responded, half-jokingly. When her mother shot her a warning glance, Caroline quickly added "Oh, Mom. You know I'm just kidding. I know how busy Chris is."
"How are things going, honey?" asked Mrs. Duffy.
"Oh Mom, I really don't want to be here. I mean, the food, the chores, and the schedule are okay, but I really don't want to talk about my personal life in front a bunch of strangers. I have nothing in common with them" an anxious Caroline replied.
"Now Puddin'" spoke Fred. "People from all different backgrounds may be here, but you share something very important with them. All of you have lost control of your lives to alcohol or drugs. That's the biggest thing in your life right now, and the people here are going through the same thing as you. If you listen and share, you may learn something important."
"Mom, Dad, do you mind if we don't talk about this now? That's all that's talked about all the time here. You came all the way down here to visit, let's talk about something more cheerful. Tell me, how are things in Peshtigo?" Caroline queried.
"Okay dear" answered Margaret. "Do you remember the Sweeney brothers?" Caroline nodded. "Well, let me tell you about their latest escapade…"
******
One week later…
Caroline was trudging over to her daily counseling session with the staff psychiatrist. The man she had been seeing, Dr. Tuttle, wouldn't be there. He would be away for a few weeks on a long previously planned vacation. "I hope the new doctor is as good as Dr. Tuttle" Caroline sighed. "I thought I was getting somewhere with him."
She nervously entered the office, and was reassured when she saw a motherly woman behind the desk. When Caroline entered, the woman smiled at her. "Hello, I'm Dr. Hope."
Caroline chuckled "That's funny, your name. I once met a woman who worked at a bank whose name was Mrs. Banks. Are you here to give people hope?"
The doctor replied "Well, we can only 'hope' so… Miss Duffy… may I call you Caroline?" Caroline nodded. "Caroline, I've been looking over Dr. Tuttle's notes. He believes that you're suffering from depression, and that the interaction between that and your addiction is hindering your progress. He recommended that you be started on an antidepressant drug regimen, and I concur. I would like to start you on Zoloft, an SSRI, which increases the brain's level of serotonin. We might try a trycyclic later, but I want to start out with something with less risk of side effects. And just before you leave this facility, we might want to start you on a regimen of Antabuse, an alcohol aversion drug, which causes quite an unpleasant reaction should even a small quantity of alcohol be ingested."
"Huh?" a confused Caroline responded.
The doctor smiled "It will help you feel less down."
Caroline replied "Whatever you think is best, doctor."
"Please, call me Constance."
"Alright, Constance."
"Now Caroline, according to Dr. Tuttle's notes, you were discussing your relationship with a man named Richard…"
******
Two weeks later…
Caroline's parents were in the center's administrator's office.
Fred Duffy spoke "Dr. Smith, we're here today to visit our daughter, Caroline Duffy. They told us at the front desk that you wanted to see us. It's only a couple of days until her first month here is up. Is there a problem, or did you want to tell us that she's cured, and we can take her home?"
Dr. Smith answered "Unfortunately, addicts are never really cured. But they can learn behaviors and strategies to deal with their addiction day to day. I will say that the staff tells me that your daughter has demonstrated a remarkable change in behavior and attitude in the short time she has been here. I think the antidepressant drug therapy, the group meetings, and the individual counseling have really helped. But I do recommend that she stay here longer. She's in a fragile emotional state, I believe she can make more progress here. But the decision is up to you and your daughter. You will have to decide if you can afford to spend the money to keep her here, and since she committed herself voluntarily, she will have to decide that she wants to stay here. If the decision you make is for her to leave, I would recommend that she check into a halfway house. They have less structure than our facility, but it's better than having to deal with everything on your own all at once, when you're used to having decisions being made for you, as in here. Plus, they have experience in dealing with recovering alcoholics and addicts. I want to warn you, once outside, Caroline will be subject to pressures and temptations again. And unfortunately, there have been cases where patients have faked being better, just so they can justify to others, and maybe themselves, that they should leave. But the real motivation, consciously or subconsciously, may be the desire to drink again. Despite our best efforts, we can't really know what's going on in a patient's brain."
Just then, Caroline entered the office, with a smile to light up the room that hadn't been seen in many months. "Mom, Dad, I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed, and gave them both a big hug. "I can't wait to go home!"
"I'm happy to see you too, dear" responded Margaret.
"Hey, Puddin'! Let's find someplace to talk" said Fred. "We have a few things to discuss."