00:02 - 00:49
Kevin Zundl: Hi, this is Kevin Zundl and you're listening to the Turning Winds podcast. Turning Winds is a program for kids 13 to 18 who need some help clinically. And there's a really great structured specialized education program to help as well. So I'm here today with Meeta and Aidan. And Aidan had recently attended Turning Winds. They're in Seattle right now and agreed to have a conversation and let us know sort of like what their journey has been has been to date. So welcome, Meeda and Aiden.

00:50 - 01:36
Meeda: Good afternoon. My son, Aiden, is a wonderful boy. And he was having a hard time. We were trying lots of things. We were trying just here at home, just a lot of different ways to incentivize him or disincentivize him and reward him and penalize him and lots of things to try to get him to where we know he should be and can be and is the place for him to be. And it continued to worsen during COVID. It got worse with the isolation, I think, and continued to worsen over, you know, after the pandemic and the

01:36 - 02:24
Meeda: shutdown ended, it continued to worsen and he was pulling away from the family more and more and starting to get into trouble. And it was apparent there was no hiding it. It was obvious, it was everywhere, it was always. And we got some help, we got some outside help, we got some weekly therapy from a couple of different people and we got some family therapy and it didn't work. Aidan is smart and can knows how to manage people, including professional therapists. And it got worse and worse. And we got to a point in late 2021, where

02:24 - 02:56
Meeda: we had a catastrophe on our hands. And then in we were in desperation to do something as quick as possible, because it was a catastrophe brewing was a catastrophe in the moment. And I didn't know anything about anything and had never been through this, did don't have any of what we'd been going through in my past experience at all. So we started making phone calls and reaching out and calling on my family, who's wonderful to help and and and try to navigate the situation we were in and try to find help for aid and which is

02:56 - 03:41
Meeda: difficult in Washington State where they don't support the family and helping the child. Unfortunately, they actually stand in the way. But you know, through various phone calls and connections, we hooked up with an interventionist in Spokane who gave us Turning Winds names and we reached out to Turning Winds and spoke to Eric Loesch and who walked us through it and it sounded like a good a good fit for us for Aiden and we we we made plans to get Aiden to Turning Winds and he went and my my husband took him and we were relieved and

03:41 - 03:41
Meeda: sad.

03:42 - 03:51
Kevin Zundl: So what were some of the things going through your head when you were thinking, okay, this is going to take some time, but I know it's time to do it.

03:52 - 03:56
Meeda: We had no choice. I didn't have a choice as I was going to lose my boy.

03:57 - 04:13
Kevin Zundl: So, Aiden, for you, I'm just curious, what was kind of going through your head when you sort of first arrived? I mean, I think it's probably scary, but I know the Turning Winds campus, it's sort of a breathtaking place as well.

04:13 - 04:33
Aiden: I wasn't really focused on, wow, look how beautiful this place is and the freedom I have here being away from what I had currently been the situation I was in before. So I was just focused on how I can get back to where I was before and not really focused on the opportunity that I was placed in.

04:33 - 04:54
Kevin Zundl: As you kind of settled in, what were some of the first things that, you know, sort of made you really comfortable if it was an activity or the food or a friendship that you made? What sort of, what was that sort of turning point that they said, you know what, maybe this is going to be okay?

04:54 - 05:22
Aiden: I had a friend that I made relatively quickly because he was also from Seattle. So we became friends really fast and we could relate on a lot of stuff. So that made it a lot easier for me to open up to people and just like be okay with being there because I felt like I had somebody that like understood me pretty well. And then a lot of the staff like Carl and a couple staff like the RAs were really like welcoming to me and like super kind to me and like just try to be understanding and

05:22 - 05:42
Aiden: explain my situation and how I can get help here. And I think that a lot of the staff like treated me like like a human and not just like a patient that like at a treatment center. So that made it a lot better because I felt like I had people that could see me for me and not just like this kid that's here because I need to get help.

05:43 - 05:46
Kevin Zundl: So how long were you there in the end?

05:46 - 05:50
Aiden: I left Turning Winds at 11 months and 3 and a half weeks.

05:51 - 06:00
Kevin Zundl: You know, what, what was something from, from a personal growth standpoint or an academic standpoint that you felt, okay, now I'm feeling momentum.

06:02 - 06:25
Aiden: I think when I started having the shift of like changing from, I don't want to be here to like I want to make a change is around like my 5 month mark. And I think that's a really good thing about Turning Winds is that it's a long-term. So it gives a lot of time for kids to change their mindset because you grow into this mindset where you know it all like before and you don't think anybody's right except you. So I think around my five-month mark.

06:26 - 06:41
Kevin Zundl: And so, Amita, you know, it's obviously going to feel different at home without Aiden there. But you know, what were some of the things that you know, kind of gave you confirmation that you'd made the right decision?

06:42 - 07:05
Meeda: A moment to breathe and not worry that something who knows what was going to happen, what was going to be the next shoe to drop. So we knew he was safe, but of course we missed him. But we also were able to speak with his therapist and Aidan once a week, which was really good. She was super positive and encouraging.

07:06 - 07:07
Kevin Zundl: That's great.

07:09 - 07:18
Meeda: And then we had calls with Aiden once a week. And so, you know, a separate, separate, just free call. And so it was good. We always look forward to that.

07:19 - 07:26
Kevin Zundl: And so what's, what's sort of life like for you now? And what's sort of next for you?

07:26 - 07:57
Aiden: I think it's, it's, it's definitely a lot better, like a hundred percent better than it was before. I, I have like a way better relationship with my family, definitely way healthier. I'm going to school, you know, I about to graduate high school, I have a job, like I'm, it's just like stuff that never would have been expected to be seen before Turning Winds to now, You know, like I never would have spent the time to get a job and work to get money or, you know, go to high school. I barely attended high school before I

07:57 - 08:09
Aiden: went to Turning Winds. Yeah, just like simple things and working on myself to grow and just practicing like being the best person I can be with my family and my peers, you know,

08:09 - 08:18
Kevin Zundl: if you were going to give sort of a message to someone who was going to be attending. What, what would you tell them

08:19 - 08:29
Aiden: To take it 1 day at a time and focus on the moment and use the tools that you have in front of you to get better and not just let them go to waste.

08:31 - 08:33
Meeda: Can I continue a little bit?

08:34 - 08:35
Kevin Zundl: Absolutely can.

08:35 - 09:08
Meeda: Turning Wind saved my boy's life. They were a family to him, and they are now still today. But they loved him, and they were patient and believed in him and helped him believe in himself. So I'm happy for turning mints. I'm happy I found them. So I guess I wanted to make sure I said that.

09:09 - 11:47
Kevin Zundl: I'm so glad you did. Thank you. So if you're listening to this story and it inspires you, it gives you hope. I recommend calling Turning Winds and speaking to someone and sharing your situation. And I think they'll be able to really help. They'll give advice, assess the situation, and figure out what are the right next steps for you. The way to do that is 800-845-1380 or go to turningwinds.com. Thank you. You you you you you you you you