'No going back' - Mother vows to stay at hospital until HSE grant residential care to son with severe autism

Latest: A Rialto woman whose description of the plight of her son Caoimh attracted widespread sympathy on social media recently says she has travelled with him by ambulance with to Crumlin Children's Hospital tonight.

'No going back' - Mother vows to stay at hospital until HSE grant residential care to son with severe autism

Update 8.40pm: A Rialto woman whose description of the plight of her son Caoimh attracted widespread sympathy on social media recently says she has travelled with him by ambulance with to Crumlin Children's Hospital tonight.

Adrienne Murphy says she has repeatedly asked for residential care for Caoimh, who has severe autism.

"We have no intention of leaving here until Caoimh is admitted into the residential care place earmarked for him, that is currently lying empty, yet which we are told by HSE Ireland can not yet be made available to him," she said in a Facebook status update.

"As you will know who saw my Facebook Live broadcast, we are now at breaking point and there is no going back."

Earlier:

A mother has issued an emotional Facebook appeal to the HSE calling for her help in the treatment and care of her severely autistic son in light of increasingly "psychotic and violent episodes" , writes Ciara Phelan.

In the video Adrienne Murphy reveals how she has phoned 999 seven times in two years because she fears for her and her son’s life.

"He beats his head off walls to the point where he draws blood and bruises himself," she said in the emotional appeal on Facebook. 

"I’ve had seven interventions by the emergency services, and I’ve been brought to A&E because of his violent behaviour.”

Adrienne has said she has been fighting hard for her son for the last 15 years and that she has begged the HSE to relieve her from "brutalising" and "dehumanising" living conditions.

She said her 14-year-old son is incontinent at night and has to be locked into a box room because she fears he will go downstairs where he can get access to kitchen appliances.

"Caoimh, as well as being severely disabled, is doubly incontinent at night. He can’t even wash his own hands, he’s very tall and extremely strong," she said.

"Because he is doubly incontinent, which includes having bowel movements twice a night, he has a commode but can’t use it independently. 

"Six out of seven nights I open Caoimh’s door to find him covered in his own excrement. 

"He won’t wear pull-ups, he has to be locked in at night in a tiny boxed bedroom that I’ve had to put padding on the door. He’s locked in there at night because if he gets out and I don’t hear him, because I am so exhausted, he can easily come down (stairs) and get knives."

Nobody cares if we live or die, never mind the brutalising horrendous conditions that the three of us are compelled to endure every day. This is my boy, my beautiful baby. I want to continue mothering him, he needs residential care for me to continue mothering him," she said.

Adrienne claims that she has been in regular contact with the HSE and Simon Harris who have told her that her son was going to be taken into residential care.  

She claimed the HSE promised her four months ago that they had secured funding to assist her son and that a suitable service had been found for her son to stay in.

She has said that she received an email stating that this was no longer the case which has now resulted in her posting this video online to try and get support.

"I was told that he was gone to the top of their list and they (HSE) were given the green light for funding."

Adrienne has said, despite a huge amount of professional information and reports sent to the HSE about her son, they have now said that her son needs to be observed again in a home setting. However, they cannot tell her when this observation will take place.

Adrienne Murphy talking in the Facebook Live appeal
Adrienne Murphy talking in the Facebook Live appeal

Adrienne recalled the most recent incident where her son was handcuffed and brought from her house screaming before he was sedated in A&E later.

"The police and ambulance came and they handcuffed him naked and brought him from the house screaming and shouting with a towel over his head. They brought him to A&E where they sedated him," she said.

"He was brought to Crumlin Children’s Hospital where he had another two violent outbursts.

"I had to bring him home and continue to look after him and at that time I contacted the HSE. They know I have been in crisis for two years and I requested emergency residential care for my son because clearly his needs have gone way beyond my ability to care for him even though it’s heartbreaking for me and I want to keep him at home."

Adrienne said she has posted the video online so she can get support and encouraged people to share the video as widely as they can.

"I can’t do this anymore or for one more day, I’ve begged the HSE," she said.

"I’m asking that Caoimh be taken immediately to somewhere that he can be safe and I want him to be safe. I feel totally abandoned.”

When contacted today the HSE said they do not comment on individual cases.

You can watch Adrienne's live post in full below.

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