Mother's story goes viral, prompting mental health debate - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Mother's story goes viral, prompting mental health debate

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Cody Tucker - email
"Michael holding a butterfly" (Source: The Anarchist Soccer Mom) "Michael holding a butterfly" (Source: The Anarchist Soccer Mom)

  • Heartland News

  • Wednesday, May 22 2013 10:06 PM EDT2013-05-23 02:06:52 GMT
    You might think it’s a problem in foreign countries, or big cities, but the SEMO Rescue and Restore Coalition said human trafficking is a problem in the Heartland.“Human trafficking is happening in our own backyards,” said Sandra Self with the coalition.“It’s hard for us because we’re kind of, we think we’re insulated, here in the Midwest, you know in the middle of the country thinking that would never happen around here, but unfortunately it does,” said Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter.“We g...
    You might think it’s a problem in foreign countries, or big cities, but the SEMO Rescue and Restore Coalition said human trafficking is a problem in the Heartland.“Human trafficking is happening in our own backyards,” said Sandra Self with the coalition.“It’s hard for us because we’re kind of, we think we’re insulated, here in the Midwest, you know in the middle of the country thinking that would never happen around here, but unfortunately it does,” said Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter.“We g...

  • Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:58 PM EDT2013-05-23 00:58:57 GMT
    A Jackson County family was stunned after learning their dog was shot and killed by police.Authorities aren’t talking, but the family is.“I was just thinking how could somebody do that to me and just leave him in my yard for me to come home and find,” Tilley said.Brittney Tilley and her dad never expected they would bury their two-year-old dog Boots so soon.The beagle and lab mix was found shot in the head on Sunday. Days later, they still don’t know what drove someone to kill the dog.“A deci...
    A Jackson County family was stunned after learning their dog was shot and killed by police.Authorities aren’t talking, but the family is.“I was just thinking how could somebody do that to me and just leave him in my yard for me to come home and find,” Tilley said.Brittney Tilley and her dad never expected they would bury their two-year-old dog Boots so soon.The beagle and lab mix was found shot in the head on Sunday. Days later, they still don’t know what drove someone to kill the dog.“A deci...

  • Wednesday, May 22 2013 7:54 PM EDT2013-05-22 23:54:34 GMT
    A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is gearing up for a repair project on the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge between Wickliffe, Ky., and Cairo, Ill., that will impact truck traffic this summer.According to KYTC, trucks will be have to be rerouted for approximately 70 days beginning after June 24.KYTC District 1 spokesman Keith Todd said the agency wants truckers and suppliers who depend in the bridge to be aware of the coming project.“This project involves repairs on bridge deck s...
    A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is gearing up for a repair project on the U.S. 51 Ohio River Bridge between Wickliffe, Ky., and Cairo, Ill., that will impact truck traffic this summer.According to KYTC, trucks will be have to be rerouted for approximately 70 days beginning after June 24.KYTC District 1 spokesman Keith Todd said the agency wants truckers and suppliers who depend in the bridge to be aware of the coming project.“This project involves repairs on bridge deck s...
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(KFVS) - "I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me."

The shocking images of the tragic shootings in Newtown, Conn., have compelled one mother to tell her story.

Now, that story has gone viral, prompting debate over the treatment of children with mental illness.

In a post on her blog, Anarchist Soccer Mom, the mother of three details the problems from which her oldest son struggles. 

She writes, "A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to."

It's just one of a few tragic, and terrifying stories told by the mother.

Michael is 13 years old.  She says at times he's a normal, though incredibly intelligent young man.  But in a second, he can turn violent with little notice.

The story has prompted heated, and at times graphic debate on the comments following her post. But her struggle to find diagnosis and cure is a rare look inside just one aspect of our mental health system.  If she wants to get anything done, one social worker told her the boy must first have a criminal record.

"No one wants to send a 13-year-old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail," she writes. "But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options."

Read her full story here.  We must warn you that the story, along with the comments below contains some graphic language.  The site also includes opinions held only by the author of The Anarchist Soccer Mom.

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