Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Recognition. Prevention. Treatment
20/20 Parenting. Recognizing and mitigating early vulnerabilities and risk factors.
Kerry’s Journal
Reflections, Experiences, Shared Vision
July 19, 2006
Today's Vancouver Courier newspaper article features our story titled "A Mother's Message" on the front page! While I am very grateful for the opportunity to get our story out I'd like to make a few corrections and comments:
- Ryan died on January 13, 2002 versus the 14th.
- Ryan did not "turn to the street corners" and "work the streets". Very early in his addiction he chose not to become a criminal after receiving a sexual proposition, saying "I don't want to hurt people mom". As far as I know he had a relationship with one gay man who contacted me after his death, very distraught, who had bought him clothes and food, and most likely meth. A negative test for HIV taken at my request during his last hospital stay seems to confirm this.
- I did not "fall into a deep depression... and shut out the world". Yes, I grieved as any mother would, my physical health suffered due to the stress of it all, and I had a suicidal thought or two, fleeting as they were. I've learned that this is natural for suicide survivors.
- Ryan was told he would need to be on antipsychotic and antidepressant medications for at least a year and that it was unknown whether or not his brain would fully recover. It seemed to me that this 'knowledge' was unacceptable to him and made it easier for him to end his life.
- The word "rare" seems either contradictory or a misquote of Dr. March considering his quote immediately following: "For the remaining 15 per cent of people who have persistent psychosis from crystal meth, it can go on for weeks or months, even when they've stopped using the drug". Wouldn't one percent classify as rare? The point we need to understand here is that who will be among this 15% (another professional estimate is 10 - 20%) is not easily determined. Is anyone's life worth playing these odds?
Despite the inaccuracies, common with the second telling of any story, the article paints a reasonably accurate picture and I thank Mark for his great work in portraying it. May it contribute to saving quality of life, or life itself, for many precious young people and their families.
Kerry Jackson
PS: I really am not as seemingly angry as the Courier's photo of me! Unfortunately the lighting was set up for dramatic effect versus reality.
