Where do I begin? Life with my brother has been extremely difficult for as long as I can remember. It’s been chaos, to be quite honest. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD many years ago, and has also experienced head trauma. Whenever we don’t think it can get any worse, it does. Now, it’s an urgent situation and if we have ever been worried for his life (we have, always), we are especially worried now. Worried is putting it lightly, actually. Every day we aren’t sure if he’ll make it another day.
For those of you who don’t know him, or don’t know him very well, he used to be charismatic, intelligent, full of life, curious, and often a source of laughter and humor. He’s extremely talented as a musician. He’s also been angry, abusive, tense, anxious, dark, and lost. Lately, he’s only the latter. He’s seemingly lost those really great parts about him and his mental illness has taken over.
He’s currently being housed with my parents because it’s too dangerous for his 3 girls for him to be at home. My parents are so worn down, depressed and helpless. They have been fighting this battle with his brain on their own for far too long. They are quickly running out of what little resources they have to try to and save him. Not just for his sake but for his girls.
I will always be the first to tell anyone who tries to give us advice that we’ve tried it all, and truly no one would understand the difficulty my parents have gone through raising someone with his brain, unless they’ve gone through it themselves. The best anyone can do is to say “I don’t understand but I am here for you.” So please, before you pass judgement, just know that my family has tried EVERYTHING that they could ever try given the little resources and lack of support that is available to them. Except for one thing, which is why I write this today.
Our last resort is to try oxygen therapy. It’s a little known treatment using a hyperbaric chamber. It’s one of the only things that Justin himself is willing to try at this point (it’s hard to get him to agree to much), and studies suggest that it could make some pretty drastic improvements for his brain. If we could even get just a little bit of his old self back, it would be worth it. It would be worth it for his girls, if they could spend quality time with him without anxiety or anger, if they could see him calm down and use his talents for good, if they could see him start to overcome his illness, if they could just see him laugh again. And it would be worth it for us too. For my parents, who are getting too old to not have lived THEIR dreams because they’ve had to focus on him too long, and for me, who still suffers from PTSD and anxiety and who still cannot be in the same room as him today.
In order to buy this hyperbaric chamber (it would be more cost effective than renting it for the amount of treatment he needs), we need your help. My parents have already invested too much of their retirement money into beginning this process. They can’t fight this battle alone anymore.
*Donors will receive a generously donated 11x14" art print by Kip Westerfield if they choose! There are four options pictured below, send us your shipping address if you want one. These were originally hand drawn in ink and are printed on matte paper. (Sorry the examples are sideways, they don't let me format the photos correctly.)
For those of you who don’t know him, or don’t know him very well, he used to be charismatic, intelligent, full of life, curious, and often a source of laughter and humor. He’s extremely talented as a musician. He’s also been angry, abusive, tense, anxious, dark, and lost. Lately, he’s only the latter. He’s seemingly lost those really great parts about him and his mental illness has taken over.
He’s currently being housed with my parents because it’s too dangerous for his 3 girls for him to be at home. My parents are so worn down, depressed and helpless. They have been fighting this battle with his brain on their own for far too long. They are quickly running out of what little resources they have to try to and save him. Not just for his sake but for his girls.
I will always be the first to tell anyone who tries to give us advice that we’ve tried it all, and truly no one would understand the difficulty my parents have gone through raising someone with his brain, unless they’ve gone through it themselves. The best anyone can do is to say “I don’t understand but I am here for you.” So please, before you pass judgement, just know that my family has tried EVERYTHING that they could ever try given the little resources and lack of support that is available to them. Except for one thing, which is why I write this today.
Our last resort is to try oxygen therapy. It’s a little known treatment using a hyperbaric chamber. It’s one of the only things that Justin himself is willing to try at this point (it’s hard to get him to agree to much), and studies suggest that it could make some pretty drastic improvements for his brain. If we could even get just a little bit of his old self back, it would be worth it. It would be worth it for his girls, if they could spend quality time with him without anxiety or anger, if they could see him calm down and use his talents for good, if they could see him start to overcome his illness, if they could just see him laugh again. And it would be worth it for us too. For my parents, who are getting too old to not have lived THEIR dreams because they’ve had to focus on him too long, and for me, who still suffers from PTSD and anxiety and who still cannot be in the same room as him today.
In order to buy this hyperbaric chamber (it would be more cost effective than renting it for the amount of treatment he needs), we need your help. My parents have already invested too much of their retirement money into beginning this process. They can’t fight this battle alone anymore.
*Donors will receive a generously donated 11x14" art print by Kip Westerfield if they choose! There are four options pictured below, send us your shipping address if you want one. These were originally hand drawn in ink and are printed on matte paper. (Sorry the examples are sideways, they don't let me format the photos correctly.)
Organizer and beneficiary
Vicki Link
Beneficiary