(June 15, 2015) At age 27, my son's life and the lives of his family changed forever. He was literally transformed into a different person. His behavior became weird, psychotic and delusional. He was obsessed with neurotic religious beliefs; he thought that God had anointed him a prophet and commissioned him to write another book for the Bible.
He believed he was in the witness protection program and federal agents were trying to assassinate him because he was in possession of top secret information that would take down important people in the government if he went public. He developed an unhealthy fixation on the president and made many attempts to get into the White House. He thought he had a White House security clearance and that the FBI had issued him a special gun permit. There were days he actually believed he was the president, living in the White House. He was in complete denial that anything was wrong with him. It took an aggressive encounter with a police officer to get him committed to a hospital. His diagnosis brought two new words into our lives: bipolar disorder.
My son was so ill my family feared he would never recover. But recover he did after 32 days of treatment with forced medications. He suffered four additional, prolonged bipolar manic episodes — each episode preceded by his decision to stop taking his medication, each episode more severe than the previous and of a longer duration.
The longer duration was because of judges at commitment hearings who ruled time and time again that my son was not a danger to himself or others — often against the recommendation of the treating psychiatrist. These judges were complying with state laws that set strict controls regarding hospitalization with forced treatment, restricting it to circumstances when a person is suicidal or homicidal. These laws force families to watch their loved ones deteriorate mentally until they actually reach the crisis stage and meet the commitment criteria of being a danger to themselves or others. By then, it is sometimes too late.
Each time my son was allowed to go untreated for long periods of time, he sustained further brain damage. His downward course was aided by a completely ineffective legal system that continually protected his civil right to refuse treatment until he became suicidal or homicidal. This illness left him trapped in a body ravaged by irreversible damage from untreated bipolar disorder. Sadly, he was allowed to reach the crisis stage one time too many. His third attempt at suicide was successful...
Had H.R. 2646 been law during my son's 13-year struggle with severe bipolar disorder, his family would have been able to help him get treatment. He might very well be alive today.
DOTTIE PACHARIS
FLORIDA
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