Thursday, September 13, 2007
Woman guilty of killing young son - Seattle P-I
Mother admits stabbing death of 20-month-old boy
A mentally troubled woman known by neighbors to be a risk for her three children pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the stabbing of the youngest, a 20-month-old son.
Kelly N. Meining, 32, faces up to 28 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 2 ...
According to court records, Meining has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After her arrest, neighbors in the Sifton area said they joined with the grandparents of her children in trying to protect the three youngsters from their mother's erratic behavior.
A grandmother was staying with the children until a few minutes before Meining's husband, Kris Meining, returned home from work and called 911 to report that she had stabbed their youngest child. ...
Mother admits stabbing death of 20-month-old boy
A mentally troubled woman known by neighbors to be a risk for her three children pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder in the stabbing of the youngest, a 20-month-old son.
Kelly N. Meining, 32, faces up to 28 years in prison when she is sentenced Oct. 2 ...
According to court records, Meining has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. After her arrest, neighbors in the Sifton area said they joined with the grandparents of her children in trying to protect the three youngsters from their mother's erratic behavior.
A grandmother was staying with the children until a few minutes before Meining's husband, Kris Meining, returned home from work and called 911 to report that she had stabbed their youngest child. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Killer's Parents Describe Attempts Over the Years to Help Isolated Son - Washington Post
Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might -- with countless visits to counselors and psychologists, treatment with antidepressants or art therapy, and attempts to find him friends at basketball camp or taekwondo or church -- no one could break through.
Like any mother, she wanted her son to fit in. Like any immigrant, she felt that no sacrifice was too great to make sure he found a place for himself in this new country, even if it meant overcoming the deeply ingrained stigma in Korean culture of admitting mental illness.
She knew he was troubled and isolated. But it wasn't until her son killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech on April 16 that she knew just how twisted his private world had become.
...
The panel's report, formally released yesterday, paints the most complete portrait to date of Cho's frail and sickly childhood; his hopeful middle and high school years bolstered by intensive psychological therapy, medication and a supportive school environment; his misplaced aspirations to become a famous writer; and, as that dream slipped away, his descent into madness.
The report also provides for the first time some perspective from Cho's family. They were shocked when they learned of his violent writings. Cho had always been so secretive, typing away on his computer but refusing to share what he wrote. They had no idea that he had been briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric institution during his junior year at Virginia Tech and had been declared mentally ill. The son, the hospital and the court never told them.
"We would have taken him home and made him miss a semester to get this looked at," the Chos told the panel. "But we just did not know . . . about anything being wrong."
...
Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. ...
Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, [his sister] noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B's to D's, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.
...
[He] saw an art therapist and a psychiatrist who diagnosed a severe social anxiety disorder. "It was painful to see," one of the psychiatrists told the panel. The Chos took turns leaving work early to get their son to his sessions every week. In art therapy, Cho made houses out of clay that had no windows or doors. Sometimes, when the therapist explained that his artwork showed how inadequate he must feel, Cho's eyes would fill with tears. ...
Sometimes, Hyang Im Cho would become so frustrated with her son, Seung Hui Cho, that she would shake him. He rarely spoke. And when he did, it was just a few words, barely above a whisper. He never looked anyone in the eye. It was as if he lived walled off in a world of his own. Try as she might -- with countless visits to counselors and psychologists, treatment with antidepressants or art therapy, and attempts to find him friends at basketball camp or taekwondo or church -- no one could break through.
Like any mother, she wanted her son to fit in. Like any immigrant, she felt that no sacrifice was too great to make sure he found a place for himself in this new country, even if it meant overcoming the deeply ingrained stigma in Korean culture of admitting mental illness.
She knew he was troubled and isolated. But it wasn't until her son killed 32 students and teachers at Virginia Tech on April 16 that she knew just how twisted his private world had become.
...
The panel's report, formally released yesterday, paints the most complete portrait to date of Cho's frail and sickly childhood; his hopeful middle and high school years bolstered by intensive psychological therapy, medication and a supportive school environment; his misplaced aspirations to become a famous writer; and, as that dream slipped away, his descent into madness.
The report also provides for the first time some perspective from Cho's family. They were shocked when they learned of his violent writings. Cho had always been so secretive, typing away on his computer but refusing to share what he wrote. They had no idea that he had been briefly hospitalized at a psychiatric institution during his junior year at Virginia Tech and had been declared mentally ill. The son, the hospital and the court never told them.
"We would have taken him home and made him miss a semester to get this looked at," the Chos told the panel. "But we just did not know . . . about anything being wrong."
...
Cho began his college career as a business information technology major but, by the time he was a sophomore, decided to switch to English, which was one of his weakest subjects. Nevertheless, he was convinced that he could be a great writer. ...
Later that year, after his sister found a rejection letter from a New York publishing house, [his sister] noticed that he became increasingly depressed and detached. His English grades ranged from B's to D's, and his rage grew as he felt no one understood him or his talent.
...
[He] saw an art therapist and a psychiatrist who diagnosed a severe social anxiety disorder. "It was painful to see," one of the psychiatrists told the panel. The Chos took turns leaving work early to get their son to his sessions every week. In art therapy, Cho made houses out of clay that had no windows or doors. Sometimes, when the therapist explained that his artwork showed how inadequate he must feel, Cho's eyes would fill with tears. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Homelessness affects mental and emotional health - Real Change
Real world stories from clients of a Portland non-profit
...
Kevin: “...When you are homeless like that, and it is a day-to-day thing about how you are going to make this appointment or get your clothes washed, or just it is a constant battle to try to keep your head above water and stay clean. And then, add to that the lack of housing and the places to sleep outside all are gone, you know, all those murders and all the crack and the violence on the streets, it is just, you know, it is hard. No wonder some of those people drink and do drugs, you know? People think, ‘Why don’t they just get out of it.’ Well, until you have experienced it, you cannot really judge it. It is like an evil monster.
“Somehow when you become homeless, it does something to your psyche, no matter how strong you are, it just does something to you that, the longer you are there the harder it is to get away from it. I wish I could explain it. It is beyond words, but it is real, I know it is real.” ...
Real world stories from clients of a Portland non-profit
...
Kevin: “...When you are homeless like that, and it is a day-to-day thing about how you are going to make this appointment or get your clothes washed, or just it is a constant battle to try to keep your head above water and stay clean. And then, add to that the lack of housing and the places to sleep outside all are gone, you know, all those murders and all the crack and the violence on the streets, it is just, you know, it is hard. No wonder some of those people drink and do drugs, you know? People think, ‘Why don’t they just get out of it.’ Well, until you have experienced it, you cannot really judge it. It is like an evil monster.
“Somehow when you become homeless, it does something to your psyche, no matter how strong you are, it just does something to you that, the longer you are there the harder it is to get away from it. I wish I could explain it. It is beyond words, but it is real, I know it is real.” ...
Labels: homeless, mental illness
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Laws Limit Options When a Student Is Mentally Ill - N.Y. Times
... Universities can find themselves in a double bind. On the one hand, they may be liable if they fail to prevent a suicide or murder. After the death in 2000 of Elizabeth H. Shin, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who had written several suicide notes and used the university counseling service before setting herself on fire, the Massachusetts Superior Court allowed her parents, who had not been told of her deterioration, to sue administrators for $27.7 million. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
On the other hand, universities may be held liable if they do take action to remove a potentially suicidal student. In August, the City University of New York agreed to pay $65,000 to a student who sued after being barred from her dormitory room at Hunter College because she was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.
Also last year, George Washington University reached a confidential settlement in a case charging that it had violated antidiscrimination laws by suspending Jordan Nott, a student who had sought hospitalization for depression. ...
... Universities can find themselves in a double bind. On the one hand, they may be liable if they fail to prevent a suicide or murder. After the death in 2000 of Elizabeth H. Shin, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who had written several suicide notes and used the university counseling service before setting herself on fire, the Massachusetts Superior Court allowed her parents, who had not been told of her deterioration, to sue administrators for $27.7 million. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount.
On the other hand, universities may be held liable if they do take action to remove a potentially suicidal student. In August, the City University of New York agreed to pay $65,000 to a student who sued after being barred from her dormitory room at Hunter College because she was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.
Also last year, George Washington University reached a confidential settlement in a case charging that it had violated antidiscrimination laws by suspending Jordan Nott, a student who had sought hospitalization for depression. ...
Labels: mental illness, suicide
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Can You Live With the Voices in Your Head? - N.Y. Times
Angelo, a London-born scientist in his early 30s with sandy brown hair, round wire-frame glasses and a slight, unobtrusive stammer, vividly recalls the day he began to hear voices. It was Jan. 7, 2001, and he had recently passed his Ph.D. oral exams in chemistry at an American university, where, for the previous four and a half years, he conducted research into infrared electromagnetism. Angelo was walking home from the laboratory when, all of a sudden, he heard two voices in his head. “It was like hearing thoughts in my mind that were not mine,” he explained recently. “They identified themselves as Andrew and Oliver, two angels. ...
Angelo, a London-born scientist in his early 30s with sandy brown hair, round wire-frame glasses and a slight, unobtrusive stammer, vividly recalls the day he began to hear voices. It was Jan. 7, 2001, and he had recently passed his Ph.D. oral exams in chemistry at an American university, where, for the previous four and a half years, he conducted research into infrared electromagnetism. Angelo was walking home from the laboratory when, all of a sudden, he heard two voices in his head. “It was like hearing thoughts in my mind that were not mine,” he explained recently. “They identified themselves as Andrew and Oliver, two angels. ...
Labels: mental illness
Monday, March 19, 2007
Tragedy follows landmark court win - L.A. Times
After success in a long fight against forced medication, a schizophrenic man gained freedom. But now he is accused of killing his roommate.
[When the police arrived,] Kanuri Qawi, was waiting casually in the doorway, a glass of soda in his hand. Qawi invited the officer inside and began spinning a wild tale. Intruders, he insisted, had entered his apartment. They had robbed him of $300, then stripped him naked, strapped him to a flatbed truck and paraded him through the streets. As Qawi talked, incense burned, but it could not hide the smell. It was the smell, the officer knew, of decaying flesh.
...
Qawi was a notorious figure in California mental hospitals. His nine-year legal battle had taken him all the way to the state Supreme Court, where he had won the right — for himself and hundreds of other mental patients — to refuse to take the psychiatric drugs prescribed by doctors.
...
Qawi started life as Kenny Washington, an average kid from an unusual family. As if their 14 children weren't enough, Kenny's parents, Alma and Calvin Washington, also took in a host of foster children at their home in Arcadia, Fla. ...
After success in a long fight against forced medication, a schizophrenic man gained freedom. But now he is accused of killing his roommate.
[When the police arrived,] Kanuri Qawi, was waiting casually in the doorway, a glass of soda in his hand. Qawi invited the officer inside and began spinning a wild tale. Intruders, he insisted, had entered his apartment. They had robbed him of $300, then stripped him naked, strapped him to a flatbed truck and paraded him through the streets. As Qawi talked, incense burned, but it could not hide the smell. It was the smell, the officer knew, of decaying flesh.
...
Qawi was a notorious figure in California mental hospitals. His nine-year legal battle had taken him all the way to the state Supreme Court, where he had won the right — for himself and hundreds of other mental patients — to refuse to take the psychiatric drugs prescribed by doctors.
...
Qawi started life as Kenny Washington, an average kid from an unusual family. As if their 14 children weren't enough, Kenny's parents, Alma and Calvin Washington, also took in a host of foster children at their home in Arcadia, Fla. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Friday, March 16, 2007
In Heart of Village, 4 Lives Intersect in a Chain of Violence - N.Y. Times
The paths of an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years, a pizzeria bartender and two auxiliary police officers intersected in a mere 10 minutes.
... David R. Garvin, 42, was an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years. He had worked in information graphics for The Wall Street Journal, but was fired for threatening a colleague. There were two divorces and two bankruptcy filings. In recent years, he wrote screenplays and made a run at directing and acting in films. But he found mostly frustration and, investigators said, had shown increasing signs of paranoia. By Wednesday night, his grand designs had given way to a darker obsession.
It was impossible to see it coming: the execution of the bartender in a pizzeria, apparently an act of revenge; the cold killings of two unarmed auxiliary police officers who trailed him, shot as they cowered at his feet while a videotape caught the horrors; the final shootout with police officers; and the gunman lying dead on Bleecker Street as wailing patrol cars swarmed in on a balmy night in Greenwich Village.
...
Mr. Garvin turned right on Bleecker Street and walked one block east to Sullivan Street, where he encountered the two auxiliary officers: Mr. Pekearo, a bookseller and aspiring novelist who grew up in the Village, and Mr. Marshalik, who came to New York as a boy when his family fled the war in Chechnya. ...
The paths of an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years, a pizzeria bartender and two auxiliary police officers intersected in a mere 10 minutes.
... David R. Garvin, 42, was an ex-marine whose life had been unstable for years. He had worked in information graphics for The Wall Street Journal, but was fired for threatening a colleague. There were two divorces and two bankruptcy filings. In recent years, he wrote screenplays and made a run at directing and acting in films. But he found mostly frustration and, investigators said, had shown increasing signs of paranoia. By Wednesday night, his grand designs had given way to a darker obsession.
It was impossible to see it coming: the execution of the bartender in a pizzeria, apparently an act of revenge; the cold killings of two unarmed auxiliary police officers who trailed him, shot as they cowered at his feet while a videotape caught the horrors; the final shootout with police officers; and the gunman lying dead on Bleecker Street as wailing patrol cars swarmed in on a balmy night in Greenwich Village.
...
Mr. Garvin turned right on Bleecker Street and walked one block east to Sullivan Street, where he encountered the two auxiliary officers: Mr. Pekearo, a bookseller and aspiring novelist who grew up in the Village, and Mr. Marshalik, who came to New York as a boy when his family fled the war in Chechnya. ...
Labels: mental illness, murder
Resolute life taken at rest stop - Philadelphia Inquirer
A former Soviet dissident, 75, was beaten by a stranger who police say may have been delusional.
A 75-year-old man who was beaten to death by a stranger at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop ... was an art dealer who had survived 11 years as a Soviet political prisoner, officials said.
Brian K. White, 26, of Humble, Texas, is accused of bashing Makarenko repeatedly in the head with a rock...
...
For [the dissident] Makarenko, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to officials, he and Burnside stopped at the James Fenimore Cooper Service Plaza to use the facilities. ... About 12:45 a.m., White approached the victim and asked whether he wanted to buy religious CDs, State Police Troop D Commander Mary Beth Mahlmann said. Makarenko said he did not.
White then allegedly picked up a rock and beat Makarenko repeatedly on the head ...
A former Soviet dissident, 75, was beaten by a stranger who police say may have been delusional.
A 75-year-old man who was beaten to death by a stranger at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop ... was an art dealer who had survived 11 years as a Soviet political prisoner, officials said.
Brian K. White, 26, of Humble, Texas, is accused of bashing Makarenko repeatedly in the head with a rock...
...
For [the dissident] Makarenko, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
According to officials, he and Burnside stopped at the James Fenimore Cooper Service Plaza to use the facilities. ... About 12:45 a.m., White approached the victim and asked whether he wanted to buy religious CDs, State Police Troop D Commander Mary Beth Mahlmann said. Makarenko said he did not.
White then allegedly picked up a rock and beat Makarenko repeatedly on the head ...
Labels: anger, karma, mental illness
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Nursing student still works long hours, but the reward is priceless - Seattle P-I
It's a leap from working on Wall Street to being a student nurse at the University of Washington, but former New Yorker Mike Nicholls has made it with a smile on his face.
... Nicholls had plenty of time to think about his financial career when he wound up in a New York hospital four years ago suffering from mental and physical exhaustion. He said he used the time to reflect on his life and decided he wanted to be part of something larger, more meaningful and humane.
A nurse named Irene who cared for him in the hospital became his role model. When he began considering a major career change, he was drawn to nursing because of the compassion Irene and other nurses demonstrated.
...
His parents, emigrants from the Bahamas, raised their four children in Brooklyn. His mother was a teacher and his father worked for the Transit Authority. Nicholls was the youngest child, born four minutes after his twin brother, Ed.
...
"I know I'll never make as much as I would have at JP Morgan," Nicholls said. (Washington nurses average about $63,500 annually.) "But the daily sense of satisfaction can't be bought."
Although he won't graduate from the UW until 2008, he's already planning to specialize in mental health. He said he was reared in a culture where depression or other mental health issues were not discussed, and those afflicted were looked down upon.
"You were considered less of a man, expected to snap out of it if you were down," he said. ...
It's a leap from working on Wall Street to being a student nurse at the University of Washington, but former New Yorker Mike Nicholls has made it with a smile on his face.
... Nicholls had plenty of time to think about his financial career when he wound up in a New York hospital four years ago suffering from mental and physical exhaustion. He said he used the time to reflect on his life and decided he wanted to be part of something larger, more meaningful and humane.
A nurse named Irene who cared for him in the hospital became his role model. When he began considering a major career change, he was drawn to nursing because of the compassion Irene and other nurses demonstrated.
...
His parents, emigrants from the Bahamas, raised their four children in Brooklyn. His mother was a teacher and his father worked for the Transit Authority. Nicholls was the youngest child, born four minutes after his twin brother, Ed.
...
"I know I'll never make as much as I would have at JP Morgan," Nicholls said. (Washington nurses average about $63,500 annually.) "But the daily sense of satisfaction can't be bought."
Although he won't graduate from the UW until 2008, he's already planning to specialize in mental health. He said he was reared in a culture where depression or other mental health issues were not discussed, and those afflicted were looked down upon.
"You were considered less of a man, expected to snap out of it if you were down," he said. ...
Labels: compassionate people, mental illness
Richard Jeni's family speaks out - Monsters & Critics
[Comedian] Jeni was found in a West Hollywood home on Saturday, March 10, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face, and sadly died later that morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Jeni's family released the following statement to "Extra" about his death:
... "The truth is: earlier this year Richard Jeni was diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia. One only needs to have a family member or friend with a mental illness to understand that there is nothing rational, predictable, or fair about these diseases. Mental illness is as serious as any physical affliction and can be just as devastating.
"He was not down or blue, he was ill. If you knew Richard, you could understand, this was as much a shock to those close to him, as it is to his fans and colleagues. Perhaps Richard's passing will encourage people to have sympathy, compassion and understanding for those who are afflicted with mental illness. As we are all trying to make sense of this, take time to remember the joy and laughter Richard brought to the countless people he touched during his much too short life."
[Comedian] Jeni was found in a West Hollywood home on Saturday, March 10, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face, and sadly died later that morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Jeni's family released the following statement to "Extra" about his death:
... "The truth is: earlier this year Richard Jeni was diagnosed with severe clinical depression coupled with bouts of psychotic paranoia. One only needs to have a family member or friend with a mental illness to understand that there is nothing rational, predictable, or fair about these diseases. Mental illness is as serious as any physical affliction and can be just as devastating.
"He was not down or blue, he was ill. If you knew Richard, you could understand, this was as much a shock to those close to him, as it is to his fans and colleagues. Perhaps Richard's passing will encourage people to have sympathy, compassion and understanding for those who are afflicted with mental illness. As we are all trying to make sense of this, take time to remember the joy and laughter Richard brought to the countless people he touched during his much too short life."
Labels: mental illness, suicide
Friday, February 23, 2007
Tragedy plagued fire-setter suspect - Seattle P-I
A man accused of trying to light random people on fire in Seattle has suffered from mental illness and endured a major family tragedy -- his brother shot his parents to death in 1985 and then killed himself in a gunbattle with police.
Paul Pearson frantically called an ambulance on that February day more than two decades ago when his older brother, George, shot their parents in their Ravenna home and tried to speed away.
Both brothers were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now Paul Pearson faces possible criminal charges for allegedly dousing pedestrians with lighter fluid on Seattle streets Wednesday, then lighting two people on fire. ...
[Related article: Bizarre attack: 'He lit her on fire!'Man sets two women ablaze downtown; elderly man smacks assailant with cane]
A man accused of trying to light random people on fire in Seattle has suffered from mental illness and endured a major family tragedy -- his brother shot his parents to death in 1985 and then killed himself in a gunbattle with police.
Paul Pearson frantically called an ambulance on that February day more than two decades ago when his older brother, George, shot their parents in their Ravenna home and tried to speed away.
Both brothers were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now Paul Pearson faces possible criminal charges for allegedly dousing pedestrians with lighter fluid on Seattle streets Wednesday, then lighting two people on fire. ...
[Related article: Bizarre attack: 'He lit her on fire!'Man sets two women ablaze downtown; elderly man smacks assailant with cane]
Labels: mental illness
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Japan pupil in 'suicide warning' - BBC News
Japan's education ministry has published a letter purportedly from a school pupil threatening suicide on Saturday if he continues to be bullied.
...
"This is a matter of life and death," [said a cabinet secretary]. "We want him (the pupil) to treat as precious the life received from his parents and ancestors."
... the pupil - who is believed to be a boy - complains that he is been bullied and those responsible have not been punished.
"I am writing this letter because living is painful," the letter said.
"If nothing has changed by Wednesday, 8 November, I will commit suicide."
...
In a note to the bullies the boy asks why they are picking on him. Another note addressed to a teacher asks why they will not help him.
...
Bullying is a real problem in Japan. Three bullied teenagers have taken their own lives in Japan since August.
Japan's education ministry has published a letter purportedly from a school pupil threatening suicide on Saturday if he continues to be bullied.
...
"This is a matter of life and death," [said a cabinet secretary]. "We want him (the pupil) to treat as precious the life received from his parents and ancestors."
... the pupil - who is believed to be a boy - complains that he is been bullied and those responsible have not been punished.
"I am writing this letter because living is painful," the letter said.
"If nothing has changed by Wednesday, 8 November, I will commit suicide."
...
In a note to the bullies the boy asks why they are picking on him. Another note addressed to a teacher asks why they will not help him.
...
Bullying is a real problem in Japan. Three bullied teenagers have taken their own lives in Japan since August.
Labels: mental illness, suicide
Monday, November 06, 2006
'Medically vulnerable' find haven at Harborview - Seattle P-I
Center aids cases complicated by drugs and mental illness:
... There was a woman who'd jumped out of a moving car and now had multiple head injuries -- in addition to a cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, depression and suspected neurological problems; another patient, treated previously for bipolar disorder, had attempted suicide by jumping off a highway overpass and now had multiple fractures in her spine and legs; a 47-year-old man was found unable to walk or speak because he had suffered a stroke -- as well as testing positive for cocaine; and a 59-year-old veteran, diagnosed with depression and panic disorder, recently suffered adrenal failure. The list continued.
"It's the perfect storm of patients with medical, psychiatric and substance abuse overlaps" ...
In general, only the acutely mentally ill -- schizophrenics or psychotics -- can expect treatment in the state system ... Those struggling with depression, lacking insurance and getting by on low-level wages, often fall through the cracks.
...
Blanca Gonzalez, 39, struggled to keep her job as a kitchen worker while battling alcoholism and became such a frequent visitor to Harborview's emergency room that doctors there knew her on sight.
An uninsured single mother, Gonzalez had visited various clinics, complaining of gastritis, ulcers and other stomach problems.
"But it was really undiagnosed alcoholism," said Robert Ries, director of Harborview's outpatient psychiatry and addictions program.
Emergency room doctors eventually referred her to treatment, and now, six months later, she said her entire life has changed. ...
Center aids cases complicated by drugs and mental illness:
... There was a woman who'd jumped out of a moving car and now had multiple head injuries -- in addition to a cocaine and methamphetamine addiction, depression and suspected neurological problems; another patient, treated previously for bipolar disorder, had attempted suicide by jumping off a highway overpass and now had multiple fractures in her spine and legs; a 47-year-old man was found unable to walk or speak because he had suffered a stroke -- as well as testing positive for cocaine; and a 59-year-old veteran, diagnosed with depression and panic disorder, recently suffered adrenal failure. The list continued.
"It's the perfect storm of patients with medical, psychiatric and substance abuse overlaps" ...
In general, only the acutely mentally ill -- schizophrenics or psychotics -- can expect treatment in the state system ... Those struggling with depression, lacking insurance and getting by on low-level wages, often fall through the cracks.
...
Blanca Gonzalez, 39, struggled to keep her job as a kitchen worker while battling alcoholism and became such a frequent visitor to Harborview's emergency room that doctors there knew her on sight.
An uninsured single mother, Gonzalez had visited various clinics, complaining of gastritis, ulcers and other stomach problems.
"But it was really undiagnosed alcoholism," said Robert Ries, director of Harborview's outpatient psychiatry and addictions program.
Emergency room doctors eventually referred her to treatment, and now, six months later, she said her entire life has changed. ...
Labels: drugs, mental illness
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