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After the suicide of their 18-year-old daughter, Spotsylvania County parents vow to educate others about bipolar disorder
Date published: 5/31/2009
BY CATHY DYSON
Todd and Michelle Brown could spend the rest of their lives in isolation, wondering if they could have prevented the suicide of their daughter Carol Anne. Anyone would understand why they wouldn't want to relive the past 3 years. That's when Carol Anne started to change from an outgoing cheerleader and honor student into a troubled teenager who drank excessively, didn't come home at night and was so irrational at times that she posted a photo online of herself smoking pot. No one would blame the Browns for never wanting to mention the moment their 18-year-old looped a belt around her neck and hanged herself in her bedroom closet. But they don't want their daughter's death to be in vain. They're willing to go public with her many accomplishments--as well as the bad decisions she made and the feelings of hopelessness she hid--because they don't want others to go through the same agony. The Browns have vowed to educate people about bipolar disorder, the mental illness they believe Carol Anne had. It affects almost three of every 100 adults in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Yet it often goes untreated because people don't want to admit they have "a bad kid" or a history of mental illness, Michelle said. "We're not going to allow this to be brushed under the rug," Todd said, determination rising in his voice. "The best way I can find to make anything positive out of this is to bring this illness to the attention of the public." TYPICAL REBELLION? Carol Anne, who would have turned 19 tomorrow, died Easter Sunday. She hanged herself on Good Friday, in her family's Fawn Lake home in Spotsylvania County. Her mother found her. Rescuers were able to get her breathing again, and she remained on life support for two days, but her brain had been deprived of oxygen too long. When Carol Anne's behavior first changed at 15, her parents thought it was typical rebellion. She was the oldest of three, and their first experience with teen angst. "The last 3 years, it was total drama," her father said. "She took on everyone's problems," her mother said. As the behavior worsened, so did her drinking, and the Browns focused on ways to stop it.
Date published: 5/31/2009
I have an 11 y.o. son who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 6. We have been through so much, I know I need to be strong for him and I will never give up on him . I would be happy to share information or speak with anyone needing firsthand information on this disorder.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
My boss committed suicide a few years back. It does affect everyone.
My heart goes out to you the family and all those involved. Peace will always come out when you look to God, as I'm sure you are. I'll be praying for you, and hope you continue to reach out to people.
God bless.
What a powerful story. I thank this family for allowing their story and their daughter's story to be told. My heart breaks for their loss.
A family member of mine has been in and out of legal trouble for over a decade. He has had decent jobs but been unable to keep them because of his bipolar disorder. He has been incarcerated on numerous occasions and denied medication for his disease, then been charged or punished for his behavior. On the whole mental illness is ignored by the courts and police in this country in favor of incarceration. No one would denied a handicapped person a wheelchair, however mental illness is just as debilitating.
My sister was also bipolar and committed suicide. She had all the doctors help in the fredericksburg area, she died while in Snowden on suicide watch. I have no faith in the psychiatric doctors in this area. Please, do not feel that the wait was the problem, it is the lack of qualified psychiatric doctors.
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