A Mother Helped
Others
Even When She Couldn't Help Her Son
Getting help for schizophrenic son eludes local NAMI
president
(Jan. 4, 2004) - Helen Greggans had some good news in October: Her son was
in San Mateo General Hospital in California.
After two years on the streets, her 38-year-old son, who has suffered from
schizophrenia for nearly 20 years, was finally back in the mental health
system. Today, he lives in Belmont and sees a psychiatrist regularly. He is
thinking about getting a job.
Greggans, who is president of the local chapter of the National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill (NAMI) has helped others get treatment for their loved ones,
but helping her schizophrenic son had eluded her for years.
He simply did not think he was sick. And she had no legal recourse to force
him into treatment. That is why NAMI has lobbied for Laura's Law, a 2000 state
law that allows a court to order treatment for the mentally ill.
Like the typical person Laura's Law is meant to target, Greggans' son had
been in and out of hospitals and jails over the years.
Greggans is not sure why he was taken into the hospital in October, except
that he was acting crazy. And he probably would have been released back on the
street if she hadn't intervened. She rushed to the hospital with her son's
medical records and convinced the staff to keep him there.
To help get through the difficult times, Greggans joined the San Mateo
County Chapter of NAMI eight years ago. It was the first affiliate in the
nation when it began almost 30 years ago.
The group offers support to the
mentally ill and their families and lobbies for better care. Through NAMI,
Greggans has fought for more rights for family members and more authority to
get the mentally ill treated. She said this means giving the courts authority
to order the mentally ill into treatment. It means better coordination between
police and social workers, psychiatrists and family members.
Greggans said her son, the middle child, was always shy. But at 19 -- when
he first became depressed -- she took him to the family doctor. An example of
the ignorance of the time, the doctor told him to start jogging to deal with
his depression. Soon, he began hearing voices. Eventually, he recovered enough
to get a job as a seaman, but trouble started again when he was in Hawaii and
accosted a woman he thought was pushing him. He served time in jail and a judge
ordered him into a half-way-house, where he took medication and seemed to
improve.
But after returning to California, he deteriorated again and was soon out on
the streets. Greggans said she has felt frustration over the years at her
inability to force her son into treatment.
Under her tenure as president, NAMI worked with San Mateo County to launch
a Web site
last month that offers information, in many languages, on County services,
insurance, legal issues, support groups and research. Families or individuals
can set up personal folders to store records online.
Greggans said that because young people are online, she hopes they will turn
to this resource.
She said she wants to save others from going through the suffering her son
has endured.
"I never thought I'd live to see this day," she said. "For
the first time in 18 years, my son admitted he has a disability."
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