Let’s Have Some Ice Cream!

 

 

I had not seen my son in months but had recently discovered that my youngest granddaughter was suffering from a severe clinical depression, one that I learned  had been untreated for years.  She was in crisis.  She had been in crisis for some several weeks now and was crying out for help on a regular basis. Upon learning of this, I had been trying to help her the best I could. She was to check in with me daily via text with a number. 1 was if she was feeling good… 10 was she was having a really bad day and was unable to cope. Unable to cope regularly  she was having thoughts of suicide.  There were very few days she was below 7 and too many that she was in the 9 to 10 range. That Monday, March 10 the number was texted to me ….   20!!!! I was panicked, I didn’t know what to do, so I contacted my son and asked him to go home and keep an eye on Elizabeth and when he asked why I told him she was having a really bad day. I had been encouraging her every day to talk to her parents and tell them how bad she was feeling.  I sat at work hearing from Elizabeth’s boyfriend that her mother was yelling at her because she couldn’t stop crying and she was feeling so distraught. I was so worried about her. I text Elizabeth later on to ask how she was doing and her reply was a little better. She told me how her father took her to the square because he had to purchase something.  I asked her if he was talking to her about her sadness while they were out and her response to me was … ” No he didn’t talk to me about it but he bought me ice cream.”