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Today has been a day of reopened wounds as our community has been hit with yet another teen suicide. In the last 370 days this makes the third teen suicide in our region. My heart shattered today as the family of the second young girl lost filled me in on the loss of yet another daughter.
To know there is now another family that will struggle to carry on and find a new normal in their lives my anger surfaced. My blood began to boil and I shook I was so upset and angry. I have done very well with not letting my anger win but today it did and I am going to tell you why.
The last year I watched my own family be torn to the core with the loss of Morgan, I watch a carefree 13 year old grow up 10 years and become wise beyond her years in mental health, suicide and bullying because her identical twin sister was taken from her.
The last 7 months we have watched another family struggle with the same battles and feelings after the loss of their daughter. And now again we will watch and reach out to another family torn to their very core to make sure they have support from people who can say "I know how you feel and you are ok and those feelings are normal" while the rest of society tells them they need to move on and keep living their lives.
I am angry because people have it in their minds that they can put a time from on grief, that you should be worried about how the suicide effects others while you are shattered into a million pieces and trying to keep those pieces together so you can heal, but most of all I am angry because we as a society would rather stick our heads in the sand then face tough issues head on!! Well guess what no more! Enough is enough!
If you cant talk about suicide and mental health illness and care the same way as you can cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and hell even male impotence (which even gets TV commercial time and is easier to talk about then suicide and mental health) then I am sorry but you need to give your head a shake! SUICIDE is now the leading cause of death in teenage girls! That means statistically your daughter has a better chance of ending her own life then getting hit by a drunk driver or developing cancer! Scary thought huh!
Mental Health illness will effect 1 in 5 people. Which in turn effects those around them indirectly which means NOBODY is safe from mental illness or its effects. World Health Organization has already stated by 2020 mental illness will out number ALL other illness with the except of coronary heart disease. So your odds of having to seek help for mental health illness in a family member is pretty good. You know what you will be faced with?? Lack of care and resources, long wait time which for some is a death sentence, not to mention little to no help for those who are indirectly effected or are a suicide survivor. Has my daughter been lucky to have great help and people behind her, yes she is, but let me tell you it does not happen for everyone and honestly where was all this help for her twin when she needed it.
Anger..... it is really one of those emotions that I am entitled to feel and nobody will tell me different. My only positive in it is I can be my most pushy and creative when I am angry. I have no issues stepping on toes or swinging for the outfield when I am angry about something that is preventable and treatable. Why because nobody deserves to suffer in silence, nobody deserves to struggle to put their lives back together, nobody deserves to be looked down on for seeking help, nobody deserves to feel shame for an illness they CAN NOT help!
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Thankfully we have an amazing MP who seen my post and continues to take our issues seriously and wants to organize a meeting and task force which is long over due! Together we will tackle and make it well known the changes that have to happen, and what plan needs to be put in place for things to change, for my community, my province and all of Canada! My community is isolated but our others communities that are part of Wood Buffalo are even more isolated and I WILL NOT allow anyone to forget about them. I know I have support in those communities as well and they agree change needs to happens and I will not stop until these changes have happened!
So today I lick my reopened wounds and carry on with my fight. My anger will subside and I will continue to survive and live my life, but be warned I am a mom on a mission for change and nobody does better work then a PO'd mama bear! This is my community and I will NOT let it be swept to the side NOR will I let anyone forget we are here and deserve the same resources and care that any other city of our size and population gets!
So Fort Mac who is in??? Its revolution time and alone or with an army I am fighting this war not only with mental health but bullying as well. I am not stopping and I am not sorry for that!