I hesitate to call him CrazyBrother now in light of my sister’s, DNOS, call to me this morning.
CB called our mother at about 3A.M. their time and told her he was heading to hell. He’d taken nearly all of his pills and just wanted to let her know. Mom is not usually good in a crisis but this time she called the local police for the number of emergency services in San Francisco.
By the time she got through to 911 there, he was already on his way to the hospital. It seems he had called 911 before he called her.
DNOS was in tears when she called me and I was/am my usual calm and stoic in the face of “death”. Useful? Perhaps. But not cathartic and sometimes you need the latter more.
Rob reminds me that CB wants help or he wouldn’t have called 911 or mom. Because he is mentally ill, it’s really hard to assess just how much “choice” he has. My days on the widow board with those widowed by suicide inclines me to the politically correct answer of “he can’t help himself”, but I wonder.
Regardless, he is safe and on 72hour hold and maybe he will finally be properly evaluated and get help for his long standing problems.
Somedays I wonder who I would have been had I been an only child.
anniegirl1138 
Thanks everyone. DNOS is on top of things via phone now. She is a med tech and knows the lingo and who to call and what to say. CB is physically fine but still fairly deluded judging by the conversation that she had with him. But he is safe for the next two days anyway.
Strengthening hugs… Rob is right, he called for help, so there’s hope.
I’m so sorry your family is going through this. It’s so hard to know what to do, whether your actions will help or hurt.
Years ago, my brother made a similar call to me, though his cry for help was much more subtle. I wasn’t really sure what he was trying to tell me. He and I were in different states, so I could not go to him. After much scrambling and many phone calls, I talked him out of a suicide attempt and kept him on the phone until his wife could get home. I don’t believe he has ever forgiven me for that. It seems to me his condition has gotten worse since then.
I also know it isn’t always this way. Some people get help and begin to heal after nearing the brink. I hope all works out well and that he does take the road to recovery.
Praying for hope and strength for your family.
Kathi
(sigh) been there. got the “it will be too late by the time you get this” letter from my sister a few years back… here’s hoping he gets help (my sister did) and can perhaps get on a more positive path.
sorry that it lands on your family at such a difficult time… but my observation? sometimes family “stress” drags out the more challenging behavior from a family member with mental illness…
I’m sorry about your brother; I know your family certainly doesn’t need this at this time.
If suicide is preventable, as all the literature suggests, but is not the responsibility of the survivors, “who could have done nothing” to prevent the incident; nor is it really a matter of choice for the mentally ill, who are unable to see alternatives, then who is responsible? Bound to be the government, health care system, god, universe. I dunno, myself. For me, it was a situation understood better by acceptance than analysis.
Who would you have been? Could you have been anyone but yourself? You have such strength of character, it’s hard to imagine you otherwise.
Sally