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Sue's Story
Sometimes life gives us a challenge that is unbearable and leaves our hearts broken and our lives in disrepair. We will never be the same, part of us is missing and we feel lost. Two small children ask how they can say Happy Fathers Day to their daddy so we release balloons and tell them that when it gets to heaven daddy will reach out and grab the strings and know that they love him and miss him. His children were his life, they shared a very special love. His little boy is just like his dad. The days, weeks, months, years pass but the pain and emptiness remain. We cling to the memories, pictures, a clay vase made in elementary school …….we cling to each other, family and friends and give thanks that we had Bryan for 29 years. We want to help other families so they can save their loved one. Bryan would want that. The system failed Bryan and we need to fix it.
On Monday, December 19, 2005, Bryan did not come home from work. On Thursday they found him up in the mountains with a gunshot wound to his heart. Bryan was the youngest of three children. He attended Colorado State University but when the housing boom began he turned his summer job as an electrician to full time. He was a supervisor of new construction projects and enjoyed his work. He had a love for nature and animals that lasted his lifetime. He proved his spirit and determination when he was 6 years old. He developed a rare hip disorder and had to wear a brace for six months. His school was having their own Olympics and set up a course on the playground for laps. There was Bryan in his brace making laps to earn his medal. He was a leader and ran for student body president to promote his strong feeling for fairness and justice. Years later he was asked to speak to a special education class at the university about this experience and how he felt wearing this strange contraption with so many eyes watching him. He told the class how people should be compassionate and sensitive to those who face adversity. When the pain came into his life, it was his sensitive nature and feelings of hopelessness for the future that drove him to that mountain.
I am here because I want to work with AFSP to make the necessary changes to reduce the staggering numbers of suicide we face today. I am committed to being Bryan’s advocate and communicate how we, as a society, can help desperate victims and their families at the time of crisis. The grassroots movement to set up chapters across the country is a huge step forward. As a society, we need to recognize and treat depression and mental illness as we do other diseases not by attaching to them a stigma but by looking at them with compassion. Attitudes, education and laws need to be routinely reevaluated. There should be coordination between behavioral health providers, primary care physicians and families together to identify and help the victim. 24/7 Mental Health Facilities should NOT be allowed to answer their switchboard with an answering machine. With dedication and determination we can turn the tide.
Bryan’s 9 year old son is being treated for depression. He tells us he wants to go to heaven to be with his daddy. Let’s fix the system now.