Our son, Eli, a Registered Nurse, and transgender, was 39 on April 30, 2023 when his life was cut short by Bipolar Disorder: a mental condition that causes extreme mood swings. In Memory of his short but eventful life as son, student and home health worker we are publishing a book which hopefully will unravel the travails of this mental condition that bedevils many but dumbfounds us still. For those of us who survive through their ordeal, we need to tell their story of hope and love with the understanding that they too have a life to live.

Eli earned a degree in Psychology at Sacramento State U in 2007 even as he lived with Bipolar Disorder. He did not wonder why he was sick but wondered where to get help. He found a reknowned psychiatrist in Dr. Terrence Ketter at the Stanford University Hospital in Sta Clara where he participated in a Drug Research Program. While under treatment and management, he finished a Nursing degree at the Solano Community College in 2010

Eli was a compassionate nurse to his ageing patients who were devastated learning that he has passed. A concerned brother and friend who is the go to person sitting for a friend’s baby or pet and or taking care of family. When Eli’s Mom went to surgery for Cancer of the Uterus he admonished :“Don’t give up on me Mom!” He knows that with his Bipolar condition he can’t live without his Mom. And now we have to learn how to live without him.

Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year. (National Institute of Mental Health)

The median age of onset for bipolar disorder is 25 years (National Institue of Mental Health), although the illness can start in early childhood or as late as the 40’s and 50’s. An equal number of men and women develop bipolar illness and it is found in all ages, races, ethnic groups and social classes.

“One word frees us all the weight and pain of life and that word is Love” Sophocles.

Yours,

Francis Neri