SURVIVOR SHOWCASE 04-05-13: PERSONAL NEWS ON GRIEF AND RECOVERY

"Survivor Showcase" is an occasional feature on the Grief after Suicide blog, highlighting the personal stories of survivors of suicide loss (and other bereaved people) whose experiences with grief and recovery have been reported in the news.

This installation of "Survivor Showcase" begins with the links to a recent in-depth series on survivors of suicide loss from the Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, S.D.):
• Son's Torment Stayed Hidden, Parents Say
• Faith Provides Comfort Amid Anxiety for Sister
• Mother Turns Focus to Mental Health Help
• Comfort Can Be a Hug, If You Can't Find the Words
• From Guilt and Anger to Helping after Dad's Death
• "It's Just too Much to Carry by Yourself"
• Parents of College Student Feel Love, Wrenching Pain, Sadness
• "You Can't Beat Yourself Up," Farm Widow Says
• Sharing Provides Healing, Hope for Those Suicide Left Behind

Sherry Proudfoot, a high school teacher in Vancouver, B.C. who lost her nephew to suicide in 2009, is joining forces with the Josh Platzer Society for Teen Suicide and Awareness to raise funds and promote running as a resilience-building activity, according to a recent report in The Province. Jude Platzer, who founded the Platzer Socitey after her 15-year-old son died by suicide, told the newspaper:

"You never know who this hits. If one kid is depressed or one kid is worried about a friend, and they talk to someone ... and it turns him around, it's so worth it ... If we could have (gotten) my son through a couple years, I think he would have been OK."

The family of Grace McComas believes Internet bullying contributed to her suicide, and they recently testified before the Maryland state legislature in support of laws to protect children from online bullying. According to a report from WBAL Radio, Grace's mother told lawmakers, "Grace trusted all of us to help her and we failed her miserably."

Grace's oldest sister, Cara, who is a nursing student ... also testified. "The first time I ever did CPR was on my sister last Easter morning. This should have never happened."

A Toronto Star story shares the struggles of the family of Kit Skelly, a 23-year-old man with schizophrenia who died by suicide on March 9.

"I think it's really important that people know schizophrenia can hit anywhere," (Kit's mother) Lesley said.

"When we walk along the street and downtown and we see a guy chattering to himself or yelling out somewhere, it's different now. We know that that's Kit," (Kit's father) David said, his stoic demeanour starting to crack. Lesley puts a hand softly on his knee. "That is him. And there's a person in there that needs love and a hug and help."

Cardinal Points, the newspaper for Plattsburgh (N.Y.) State University College, published a report on a recent panel presentation by survivors of suicide loss, about suicide prevention and the aftermath of suicide. Josh Murchinson, whose friend Justin Gillen died by suicide in 2006 at age 18, told of how it impacted his life.

"I was helping him through things, but the problem wasn't what was going on in his life, it was what was going in his brain ... The casualty of depression is obviously the person that takes their life, but the true victims are those who survive. You can heal but you can never fully heal," Murchinson said.

Jillian Barba of Hanford, Calif., a survivor of her 26-year-old brother's suicide in 2003, earned a master's degree in social work in 2009 and volunteers for the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, according to a story in The Sentinel.

"When you're diagnosed with cancer or diabetes, people don't just ask what's wrong with you," she said. "They do whatever they can to help you. We need to treat mental health and suicide prevention the same way, by giving help to people that need it and stop judging them ... People who suffer from mental illness are suffering in silence. They're so stigmatized that they don't get the help they need."