So over the last few months, I have been trying so hard
to make a difference in the minds of children and parents. I have met so many
people who would rather hide their heads and pretend like this could never be
them. I pray that is right every day. I have been trying to use my horror to
educate those around me. It has been a constant battle between fighting for my
own life and fighting to save those around me. You must put on your own oxygen
mask before you help your neighbor is what they tell you on a plane. Same
principle applies to grief. However it’s
in my battle to make a difference that I find the will to live and to go on. It
keeps me mentally well and allows me to feel as though she will not be
forgotten. I have learned that some people would rather go about their days and
pretend like this only happens to bad people or people from broken homes. Let
me assure you that Sara was not bad and did not come from a broken home. Suicide
does not discriminate. Every 12 minutes, we lose another child, a human being
to suicide. I want to be an advocate for mental health. I want to become a
guest speaker someday where my story touches the lives of people everywhere.
Kevin Hines is such an inspiration to me and recently I got to meet him in
person. He is world renown for his constant fight to get the word out there
about living mentally well and to educate others about suicidal thoughts. He
has so many awards I can’t even name them all. Recently he visited all 5
schools in the Shawnee Mission District because someone cared enough to bring
him here and touch the lives of other children. Karen and Steve Arkin lost their
beautiful, smart and caring son Jason to depression in May of this year and
since then they have also been advocates for suicide prevention. They have been
instrumental in getting the word out there about depression and living mentally
well. Jason and Sara both lost their
lives this year. They were both gifted children who had amazing potential. They both loved penguins and liked to doodle
them when they were young. They both
cared dearly for their friends and family. While Jason’s struggles were known
to his family, Sara’s were not. Same ending but different paths and that is the
point…suicide does not pick the person or family. Suicide is the result of a
person losing the ability to fight the pain that they are feeling inside their
heads. That pain can only be described as unimaginable. As many of you know, I am doing everything I can to
keep getting the story out there about suicide, the signs to look for, and the
questions to ask. This is what I do
these days in order to survive my loss of my only daughter. In honor of Sara, Jason, and all the children
who lost their battle, I will continue to speak up. I will continue to fight to
make a difference. Over the last 3 months, I have been a guest speaker at a
walk, helped bring Kevin Hines to all the SM schools, continued to push the
schools to do more for the kids at Sara’s school from community meeting for
parents to training for teachers to special support groups for the kids to
bringing awareness to the PTSA that they had no resources on their website.
Well I am happy to report that they do now. I have written my senator and the president, made shirts and bands to get
the word out there, came up with an awesome name SPEAK which stands for Suicide
Prevention Education Awareness for Kids, interviewed for a book about suicide, participated
in the Out of the darkness walk helping raise money for suicide prevention, and anything else that I can get involved in.
Why you may ask? Because Sara’s life mattered more than her one choice she made
that day. Because she will not be defined by her death but her death will
educate others. Her death will open people’s eyes like they have mine. I
started this blog a few months ago to help others who are like me suffering
from a loss and to educate people about an epidemic that is taking our
children. Below is the most recent post from the SM South Newspaper supporting
a great cause and raising money for suicide prevention. The children see that
things need to change in schools. They are the ones who are continuing to fight
against the school demanding change. I am so proud of the hundreds of students
who are fighting alongside me demanding a change and demanding something be
done. Continue to SPEAK RAIDERS Continue to FIGHT!!!!!
Saving a Life one Step at a Time
Claire Johnson
A group of South students made T-shirts and walked 3 laps to support the out of the darkness suicide prevention walk in honor of Sara Prideaux. Photo by Claire Johnson
Ignite officer junior Karina Siegrist participated and helped organize the event ‘Out of the Darkness Walk’ Oct. 3, a walk dedicated to suicide awareness.
“It took place at Berkley Riverfront Park, and we walked around 2 to 5 miles,” Siegrist said.
Ignite Club was surprised to see as many students and teachers who showed their support.
“Our initial goal was$ 300 but we raised it to $1,000 because we were able to raise over $800 just inside of our school,” Siegrist said.
Sophomore Niki Chamberlain was not only there to walk, but also to help promote a suicide hotline.
“I gave everyone I could a suicide hotline card with numbers on them, so that people can talk their way through their problems,” Chamberlain said.
Even though Chamberlain gave everyone the chance to get help she felt mixed emotions about the walk.
“I felt a depressive vibe giving off, but it also made me happy. It showed that people were not alone, the people who were feeling this depression were able to go and get help,” Chamberlain said.
People were not afraid to show their support in their time of mourning.
“If I had to say somewhere around 1500 to 2000 people participated in total,” Chamberlain said.
http://smsouthnews.com/7586/news/saving-a-life-one-step-at-a-time/
No comments:
Post a Comment