If not you, who?

June 26, 2013 ~ A year ago we were 1 week into this new journey. I was afraid, exhausted, and confused. The worst part is that I have no idea what my son was going through. I wish I did; having some frame of reference would have made it easier. I knew what to do if his stomach hurt or his throat was sore. I knew where the bandaids were if he scraped his knee.

But I had no idea what to do with this. Our son was still in the Psychiatric ICU and I was still struggling with leaving him there all day and only visiting for 90 minutes each evening.

The foundation was being built for what I'm sure will be a lifetime of necessary strength to continue doing what needs to be done to help him. I found this quote on the NAMI blog last year and thought I would share it:

If you love someone with a mental illness, you may be the only person standing in the gap between them and homelessness, jail, abuse, or suicide.

At times you may need to be their voice when they cannot speak for themselves, or no one listens.

Or you may need to do the leg work involved in locating mental health services and building a support network.

At others, you may need to make tough, difficult decisions that break your heart.

But if not you, who?