Marcus' War

On June 7th, 1995, I brought my beautiful baby boy Marcus Anthony Hurtado Jr into this world. He was a wonderful child and I loved him with all of my heart. Unfortunately, mental illness and depression took my baby from me just a short 22 years later on July 5th, 2017. He made our family proud, graduating high school from a military academy and joining the Army. While serving, he met the love of his life and they soon married. Marcus was a soldier, although he was mostly at war with himself. Time and time again, he battled with depression. Silently, he fought and fought and fought, and I fought too for him to stay in this world with us, but his mental illness was too strong and caused him to make a decision that he couldn't take back. Only two days before, he had seen a psychiatrist who told us they couldn't keep him because he was over 18 years old. They should have kept him. I could see in his eyes that I was losing my baby. We were supposed to go back two days later...the day he took his life. My heart is so heavy and my family is at a loss without my sweet baby boy. I wish pain like this on no one. That is why I have created this GoFundMe to raise money to help support mental health awareness. In honor of Marcus, we will be starting a mental health awareness organization to help seek treatment for young people who may also be battling with depression and other issues like Marcus did. We will be having two honorable services (not funerals), one in Seattle where he was stationed & one back at home in Atlanta. Instead of flowers, we would like our family & friends to donate here in order to help us get started with the program. We want to raise awareness and help provide treatment for others who may also be suffering. We are overwhelmed with heartache and want to make sure mental illness does not continue to take our babies from us. Any and all donations of any amount are welcomed and appreciated. Please help us honor Marcus by fighting back against mental illness and getting treatment before it's too late.