Out of the Darkness Walk 2011
This will be my fourth year walking to support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I can hardly believe that three and a half years have passed since my beautiful son, Adam died.
In this picture, I am holding my little five-month-old Adam. He loved to swim even at that age.
The love and hope that I had at that time is written all over my face. Age and pain have since left their mark. But my hopes and dreams for Adam were not unlike those of almost every new mother.
I wanted to give him a beautiful life. I wanted to spare him pain and suffering. I wanted to help him to have a full and satisfying experience. But something went very wrong.
I have contemplated his death by suicide very deeply. And I have concluded, as one of the AFSP researchers suggested that there was an underlying, untreated mental illness. Other factors converged: lack of sleep and alcohol – and thus the perfect tragic storm resulting in his death.
Mental illness is treatable. Very treatable. The obstacle is how we, as individuals and as a society look at it. We must remove the stigma – fight against denial – support each other as we strive toward mental health. The analogy is often given, a diabetic takes insulin because he must… why not treat our brain chemistry with the same, practical, dispassionate objectivity.
As a society, we must grapple with the increasing numbers of suicide victims, and work together to stem this tide.
Please walk with me if you can. If you cannot, please support me as I walk. We are all affected by suicide, and we must fight it together.
Thank you.
