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lbrtbell
lbrtbell's Journal
lbrtbell's Journal
December 17, 2012
The rest of this heartbreaking story at link:
http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html
"It's time to talk about mental illness."
I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety planthey ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didnt have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
(snip)
Im going to kill myself, he said. Im going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.
That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts.
I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. Call the police, I said. Hurry.
Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldnt escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. Im still stronger than he is, but I wont be for much longer.
I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanzas mother. I am Dylan Klebolds and Eric Harriss mother. I am James Holmess mother. I am Jared Loughners mother. I am Seung-Hui Chos mother. And these boysand their mothersneed help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, its easy to talk about guns. But its time to talk about mental illness.
A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety planthey ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.
That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didnt have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.
(snip)
Im going to kill myself, he said. Im going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.
That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts.
I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. Call the police, I said. Hurry.
Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldnt escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. Im still stronger than he is, but I wont be for much longer.
I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanzas mother. I am Dylan Klebolds and Eric Harriss mother. I am James Holmess mother. I am Jared Loughners mother. I am Seung-Hui Chos mother. And these boysand their mothersneed help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, its easy to talk about guns. But its time to talk about mental illness.
The rest of this heartbreaking story at link:
http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html
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Member since: Sat Apr 18, 2009, 03:52 AMNumber of posts: 2,389