#666 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Monday May 22)
Good morning,
Today’s Musing is personal.
As most of you know, our son Bradley died nearly 5 ½ years ago. It is something I don’t often speak about. It’s not that I am unwilling to discuss it but I don’t want it to dominate conversations, nor do I want to make people feel uncomfortable. Andrea, on the other hand, is far more willing to share and has used Brad’s death as a rallying cry to organize, educate and help others.
We both have been quite forthcoming about Brad’s ongoing struggle with depression and anxiety. It began early and, despite notable times of material improvement and joyful experiences along the way, it was a regular aspect of his life. When people learn of Brad’s death, many jump to the conclusion that he must have taken his own life. He did not. Yet, others do.
When people talk about someone “fighting cancer” or “waging war” on an illness, it often is a metaphor, since the “fight” isn’t really against the disease, per se. Rather, the battle is in dealing with the relentless treatments and soldiering forward against difficult odds. With Brad, it really was a fight against an internal enemy, for which he suited up for battle each day. He evinced more bravery than I could ever muster in leading a life that was, to most outside observers, practically normal.
Brad’s death was not by choice; although with many young people in his situation it is. In Brad’s case, he was the victim of unfortunate interaction of prescription medications, prescribed by multiple physicians through a practice known as “polypharmacy.” Andrea has been doing a great deal of work to better understand the rise in depression and anxiety among our youth, the spate of suicides, and the insubstantial efforts of society to face this scourge. One part of this is explaining the problem with polypharmacy, a practice well-meaning in its intent but potentially deadly in its practice.
Andrea’s most recent contribution is a Time.com op-ed that was published last week, “Polypharmacy Killed My Son—He’s Not Alone.” It is an eye-opener. I couldn’t be more proud of her and her ability to take our loss and use it to inform and help others.
https://time.com/6280929/polypharmacy-dangers-essay/
Warmly,
Glenn