History

I have just given a very brief detail here of a frustrating and painful journey.

Our only son Jason (aged 19)  was diagnosed with schizophrenia, paranoia and severe depression six months prior to his death. However his illness was showing well before with a complete personality and character change. He became a person we did not know. He became a person I was scared of. I was scared of my own son. Finally he said “Mum Please Help Me!”  that was when I sighed with relief because now we could seek help, he was willing and wanting help.

But alas, it was the beginning of the end. No matter what services I rang and spoke to, nobody was interested in assisting our son or our family. We all had to cope alone, in silence and the best way we could with the little knowledge we had of mental illness.

During that six months, Jason tried twice in one day to kill himself.  First by connecting the hose to the exhaust pipe of his car, which he could not get to work, then secondly by an overdose of prescribed medication. We found him frothing from the mouth and rang the ambulance immediately who rushed him to emergency of mental health.

After a couple of days of the treatment, the Psychiatrist rang me and said in his professional opinion our son was OK to come home. I begged and pleaded that our son was not OK. Jason wanted to remain in hospital. He knew he needed professional medical help; he was constantly telling me that he was going to kill himself. The treating Psychiatrist did not take any of this into account or our opinions of our son’s condition. None of this made any difference to the treating Psychiatrist, as in his professional opinion he knew best and Jason was released.

Three weeks later Jason placed himself in front of a train on the 29 May 1999.

Hence the formation of the White Wreath Assoc – Action Against Suicide.

Fanita Clark