![]() Years passed, but Moon never forgot her toy. That stuffed animal went everywhere she went for years, until one devastating day when she lost him at a local fair. It was such an integral part of her life that her grandfather would carry it around when she couldn’t-he could always be counted on to be in the stands at her basketball games, holding up the dog to cheer for her. The stuffed animal brought her security and comfort. Her grandfather eventually recovered, and from that day forward she was never without her dog. She immediately dialed 9-1-1, and when the emergency responders who arrived on the scene recognized how traumatized she was after witnessing the event, they consoled her with a blue stuffed dog. One day when they were home alone, he suffered a massive heart attack. ![]() Moon was raised by her grandfather, who struggled with chronic health problems. ![]() For Mavis Moon, however, social media is what helped reunite her with a long-lost family member: a blue, stuffed toy dog. Sometimes, that connection can restore old relationships or begin new ones. Many of us associate connection with social media: connection to the world, to friends and family, and perhaps even to others who share their ideas and hobbies. While it's tempting to blame yourself or search for what you could have done differently to stop it, the terrible truth is it's not always possible to prevent. We'll undoubtedly get better at treatment and prevention of depression, just as we do with all illness, but the devastating truth is that sometimes people do die from it. There are treatments for depression, but sometimes the disease is resistant to treatment. Suicide might be the mechanism, but the disease of depression is the cause, just as unregulated blood sugar is the mechanism for someone who dies from the disease of diabetes. But it helps to understand that that depression, while largely treatable, is a sometimes-fatal disease. There's little comfort to be found when a loved one dies of suicide. With suicide, the intention is obviously there, but it's impossible to know how much control a person actually had over it in the moment. I purposely choose to say "when he died" instead of "when he killed himself" because the latter implies conscious choice, and I don't know how much of it was truly a choice on his part. The kind, funny uncle I lost to suicide was a year younger than Tommy Raskin when he died. It also helps explain why a young man with so much promise, so much passion, and so much support around him could die from a depression that led him to suicide. That line, "forgive me, it's hard to be human," resonates with us all. "He hated cliques and social snobbery," wrote Raskin, "never had a negative word for anyone but tyrants and despots, and opposed all malicious gossip, stopping all such gossipers with a trademark Tommy line - 'forgive me, but it's hard to be a human.'" ![]() He was sensitive and kind, while also fiercely dedicated to making the world a better place for all in it. He loved animals and fought for their ethical treatment. His passion for true liberty and justice for all and his desire to solve problems of injustice, poverty, and war is clear. The celebration of Tommy's life continues with a list of the people who surrounded him with love and support. “Statement of Congressman Jamie Raskin & Sarah Bloom Raskin on the Remarkable Life of Tommy Raskin” > Everyone shou… - Dr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |