Page 15 - Silver Linings Issue1

and cheered at hockey games with his dad. Carl described him as basically an easy-going kid.
Then Jake went off to college and dramatically increased his marijuana usage. He kept losing cell phones his father would send him, but Carl later figured out Jake was selling them to buy marijuana.
as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder.
Rocky’s biography on the Silver Hill Hospital website quotes him as saying: “We never give up here. We use every means possible to help patients and their families. That’s the magic of this place.”
Rocky told Carl it would take about four months to get the medication right; then up to a year to fully see “what we’re dealing with.”
Carl likened that stage of recovery to Rocky “playing with a Rubik’s Cube until all the colors matched up.”
After one month at Silver Hill, Jake called Carl to say he was watching a New Jersey Devils game and it made him think of his dad.
“He hadn’t talked about hockey in two years,” Carl said. “He hadn’t talked about anything in two years.”
Data speaks loudly
Data on more than 200 adolescents and young adults treated by Dr. Marotta at Silver Hill’s persistent psychiatric disorders program show that 80 percent used marijuana. In a more thorough study of 25 schizophrenia
Jake dropped out of school during his freshman year and returned home. He
“He was a fully functional and capable young man and within one year he was incoherent and catatonic.”
Carl, Jake’s Dad
That magic started almost immediately and two conversations with Rocky provided the hope that Carl so desperately needed.
“Dr. Marotta called at
9:30 the next morning (after
got a full-
time job at a
supermarket
and was on
track for a big
promotion.
At the same
time, however, Jake’s heavy marijuana use continued.
admission),” Carl recalled. “He said he was intrigued by Jake. This man in Connecticut,
brilliant in his
patients who failed to improve on three attempts with antipsychotic medication,
80 percent were heavy marijuana users.
“To me, that says something,” he said. “So many of them were heavy marijuana users. The psychosis
is simmering away. We need to convince families that there is a problem because
“Slowly but surely there was degradation in responsibility and coherency,” Carl recalled. “He wouldn’t show up for work, he didn’t come home at night, he started stealing from us. I’m not proud of this, but he and I had a physical altercation once. All he wanted to do was go out and find pot. He had just spiraled out of control. He was a fully functional and capable young man and within one year he was incoherent and catatonic.”
A psychiatrist from Columbia University suggested an inpatient psychiatric hospital stay for Jake. Carl balked at first as he didn’t want to be separated from his son. Months later, as Jake continued his spiral, Carl brought his son to Silver Hill.
The hope he needed
field, is intrigued by my son and his condition. This, after all those other doctors telling me to quit. I told my wife: ‘This is the best phone call we’ve received yet.’”
Then came the conversation with Dr. Marotta that to this day brings tears to Carl’s eyes.
“We never give up here. We use every means possible to help patients and their families. That’s the magic of this place.” – Dr. Rocco Marotta
Dr. Rocco Marotta instantly took an interest in Jake. Rocky is the Service Chief for the Adult Transitional Living Program at Silver Hill. He specializes in the treatment and research of chronic conditions such
“Rocky said: ‘I can see behind his eyes and he’s intact.’”
Diagnosis and
treatment
Dr. Marotta diagnosed Jake with schizophrenia — likely triggered by heavy cannabis use — and started experimenting with medications and dosages to treat Jake’s condition.
they think it’s just depression.”
National studies and reports suggest similar findings linking cannabis use to the onset of lasting psychosis.
Jake’s progress
Jake stayed at Silver Hill for seven months. Carl’s insurance company initially cut off payment after 30 days, but Carl pleaded with his
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SILVER LININGS MAGAZINE | PREMIERE 2020
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