Help BUZZY & ALEX Give ELIJAH the Help He Needs

Our son Elijah is suffering from a severe depression.  

Because of his ADHD, he has struggled socially. The older he’s become, the more it has affected him.  He feels as though he has never “fit in”.  Through the years we have watched him go from a self confident, outgoing child who enjoyed being with a group of his peers to a much more withdrawn, solitary young man.  Although he has tried to connect with more kids his age, he is largely unsuccessful.

 Symptoms of ADHD include impulsivity, forgetfulness, low self esteem, and having no filter when you speak.  All of these things are problematic for Elijah. Because of that, he has difficulty making and keeping friends.  In addition, it has frequently made him the subject of bullying.

Just before Christmas he was a victim of bullying on social media.  We were aware that he was troubled by it and had become depressed so we sought professional help for him to deal with it.  However, we had no idea that he was so devastated that he would attempt to hurt himself.

 He started down a destructive path that spiraled so quickly out of control that on March 12th he ended up in the emergency room and on a 72 hour hold because he wanted to harm himself.   He was transported to a psychiatric hospital where he stayed for six days until he was stable.

Elijah is extremely bright and had convinced everyone that he was okay but when we brought him home we realized that he was still very depressed and needed more help than we could give him .  After speaking with his mental health providers, we decided to put him in a 30 day residential treatment facility.

One week into the program, Elijah ended up back in the emergency room because of a second suicide scare.  He spent another six days in a psychiatric hospital before being able to return to the treatment center.

Today, April 20th, Elijah ran away from the treatment center and was found by the sheriffs department. Earlier in the week, his treatment team had made the recommendation that he be transferred to a long term facility for symptoms of severe depression and trauma. 

It it is obvious to everyone involved in his treatment plan, including us, that Elijah has a long journey ahead of him.  

Insurance only covers part of his treatment and it has taken a serious financial toll on us already. We want him to get the help he needs but we have depleted our resources. We have decided to share his story with friends and family in an attempt to get him into the best possible program that will meet his needs. 

Elijah is an amazing kid who currently thinks of himself as worthless.  The facility he is in now cannot meet the level of care he requires.  He is being transferred on Monday the 22nd of April to a long term program that has been recommended by his current treatment team.  

Without help he will not be able to stay at the new facility.  They are requiring $16,500 to be paid in full in 30 days with half of that being paid up front.  That is just a portion of what the insurance will not cover.

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Barbara (Buzzy) and Sandra (Alex)