Ms. W., a 56-year-old woman with no family, lives in a nursing home and has diabetes and a schizoaffective disorder. Wendi, her OPG guardian representative, regularly visits Ms. W., who always grabs Wendi’s hand to kiss it.
Recently, Ms. W. was found in her room unresponsive and was rushed to the hospital where she was intubated and placed on a ventilator. She was diagnosed with an untreated urinary tract infection and a chronic respiratory condition that was making it difficult to wean Ms. W. off the ventilator.
The hospital staff treated Ms. W. aggressively but also asked OPG to consider allowing a natural death. If Ms. W. remained on the ventilator, she would need a tracheotomy and a surgically-placed, feeding tube. The doctors seemed to suggest a natural death was preferable because there was no long-term care facility in Florida that accepted someone on a ventilator who only had Medicaid as insurance.
Only one thing prevented OPG from agreeing with the doctors. When Wendi visited Ms. W. in the hospital, Ms. W. recognized her and reached for her hand to kiss. Wendi went back to the doctors and asked questions that pointed to a possible recovery. OPG decided to continue treatment and reassess Ms. W.’s progress periodically, giving Ms. W. precious time to recover.
Every day, the Office of Public Guardian makes ordinary decisions that impact their client’s lives, including shopping for formal attire so that clients can attend the prom, buying dolls for a woman who has a doll collection, and taking weekend trips to places like Wild Adventures.
Every day, OPG makes decisions that improve the quality of someone’s life. Adam had been placed in foster care at a young age due to a history of severe parental abuse, both physical and psychological. As a child, he was diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses and has a history of violent aggression and suicidal thoughts.
Adam was admitted to Florida State Hospital at the age of 19 when he became too old to live in a particular group home for foster care youth. At the time OPG became his guardian, Adam had been moved to another facility. On his good days, he was friendly and talkative, enjoying listening to music and playing video games.
On his bad days, things became really bad. He had repeated incidences of violent behavior and was Baker Acted multiple times in little over a year. The lowest point was when the psychiatric facility discharged Adam with no placement. He slept in a homeless shelter at night. The guardian found a companion to accompany him as he walked the streets during the day.
The guardian continued to work tirelessly to get services for Adam. She faced one obstacle after another in her pursuit. She used creative means to keep him from being homeless and to maintain his medication regime. Finally, her efforts paid off. Following a facility placement that fell through after a short period, Adam was finally readmitted to Florida State Hospital, and he is no longer homeless.
The OPG serves adults with mental and or physical disabilities as their court-appointed legal guardian when they are incapable of managing some or all of their affairs. The agency holds its annual major fundraising benefit Sunday, March 26. The event is a celebration of OPG's 30 years of serving families in the Big Bend area. Activities include mini spa, fun photos, silent auction, kid-friendly activities and light refreshments.
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Office of Public Guardian makes a difference daily
There are good and bad public guardians. I like to hear the good stories. The worst thing about public guardians is when they're bad, they're so entrenched in the system it's nearly impossible to get them off the case.
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