For a sweet friend

I have a young friend in need of some serious prayers. Her name is Phebe, and she just turned 18 last week. A year ago, she was a vibrant, intelligent, confident, outgoing young woman with every sign of success for her. Then she started having flashbacks from her early childhood...things that had happened before she was adopted. She was having trouble dealing with it, so her family took her to a counselor. Even with counseling, though, it was too much for Phebe to handle. She was deeply troubled, couldn't sleep, was having difficulty breathing, and was having a hard time even forming sentences....so a doctor prescribed sleeping pills, and he also gave her Benadryl. Unfortunately, the particular combination proved to be very dangerous and has done brain damage to Phebe. She's at the mentality of an 18-month-old right now. She can't speak, can't remember how to feed herself, can't even swallow solid foods - she's mostly eating applesauce and other soft foods at this point. If you could pray for Phebe, I'd really appreciate it. Her mom could use some prayers, too, as she has a three-month-old baby AND a broken ankle. So much to deal with. . . On a positive note, Phebe said a word today. She said "Mama". It sounds small, but she hasn't been able to speak for weeks now, so it was a tremendous blessing for her mom to hear Phebe say that.

My goodness. How terrible! The meds they give for depression is so often dangerous when mixed with over the counter meds.
How long ago did her family adopt her? I will keep them all in prayer. Thanks for letting us know about her.

Oh, how sad.....what is it with doctors that don't tell you about mixing meds....I don't get it...I will pray for Phebe and her mother......so much to handle...

Oh how horrible and heart breaking. I will ask God to be with her and her loved ones. That doctor should be sued and should have known better! Some times doctors go overboard with medications.

Thats so sad.Hope that your friend will be ok

How awful!! Will be praying Savannah.

I'll be praying for her.

I've never heard of a case like this one...Poor Phebe! I will be praying for her. Mixing meds is a bad thing, but maybe she also made a regression and is in the stage of before being adopted. How old was she when adopted?

Vanesa.

How terribly sad! I certainly will pray for Phebe and her mom.

Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate it. They're not sure exactly how much of her condition is directly related to the meds and how much is related to the shock of the memories that she'd been having...and to top it off, her case was so severe, every hospital they took her to turned her away at first. They all said, "She needs 24-hour-a-day care and rehabilitation", but they all said that her case was too severe for them to handle. FINALLY the U of M hospital took her in. But the family really had to fight to get her any care at all. It was really scary. The U of M hospital is quite a distance from their home, though, and one of the things that the family asked is that the Ronald McDonald House would have an open room for Phebe's mom, Hannah, to stay in so they don't have to worry about hotel costs.

Vanesa, you could very well be right. She was adopted at quite a young age, and I do think that she's regressed to her pre-adoption years. Poor dear.

That is so tragic. I can't imagine what this poor family is going through right now, dealing first with Phebe's difficulty with her past, and now this. I will be praying for Phebe and her family.

Phebe and her family will be in my prayers, Savannah.

Savannah wrote:

"She needs 24-hour-a-day care and rehabilitation", but they all said that her case was too severe for them to handle.

Um, isn't that their JOB?????? That is really scary, to think she was turned away everywhere. What on earth?!?!

Savannah wrote:

FINALLY the U of M hospital took her in. But the family really had to fight to get her any care at all. It was really scary. The U of M hospital is quite a distance from their home, though, and one of the things that the family asked is that the Ronald McDonald House would have an open room for Phebe's mom, Hannah, to stay in so they don't have to worry about hotel costs.

Well, that's a relief that she's there. But yes, the Ronald McDonald House is a blessing and I hope they will accomodate. I know a lot of those types of organizations are hurting due to the economy, especially here in Michigan, but I do hope they will see the need here and grant her mother's wishes. I feel just horrible for this family---I can't even imagine trying to care for a newborn during all of this.