Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2005. We took Mattie to Boston for Christmas to visit Peter's parents. While there, Mattie got the opportunity to sled. He truly loved the whole experience. Mattie did not like going down hills on his own. So either Peter or I went with him. You can definitely see his happiness through his big smile.
Quote of the day: Strong associations between mental illness and some physical conditions -- such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis -- also exist. ~ Timothy Sullivan
Peter sent me an article entitled, Infection in the young may be tied to risk for mental illness. I attached a link to the article below in case you would like to read it for yourself. Peter thought this article would strike a chord with me, and he was right. While reading it, I wanted to shout.... IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE MEDICINE!!!
In a nutshell, the article suggests that children who had been hospitalized with an infection had an 84% increased risk of being diagnosed with a mental disorder and a 42% increased risk of being prescribed drugs to treat the disorder. The article makes it clear that research hasn't proven that infections or their treatments cause mental diseases, but that there appears to be a connection.
Given that this article has a biological/medical bend, it is not surprising that the sole focus on the development of mental disorders has a very clinical origin. As the article suggests infections and the inflammatory reaction that follows can affect the young brain and contribute to the development of mental disorders. The article only proposes that children who are hospitalized develop mental health issues because of the infection they came in with or the medications used to treat the infection. Why is it that I am willing to concede that there could be a medical connection to explain the development of mental illness in these pediatric cases, and yet the doctors and author of this article never factored in the psychosocial aspects of care? Isn't it plausible that the sheer nature of having to be hospitalized for a period of time could be traumatizing and that alone or in concert with the infection could trigger mental health issues?
I ask the question, but I already KNOW the answer. I saw it FIRST hand with Mattie's cancer diagnosis. Mattie had no mental health issues prior to his diagnosis. After three months of living in the hospital, Mattie was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and medical traumatic stress. Did the cancer and its treatment produce these effects? Maybe, since science truly can't answer this question for certain, I would like to point out what we DO KNOW! The psychological toll of living in a hospital is dramatic. Lights and noise 24 hours of day, traumas of others all around us, children dying, dealing with chronic pain, reactions to medications, NO sleep, and the sheer threat or fear of dying creates an environment that is toxic. Rather ironic in a way since we come to the hospital to supposedly get well and stronger.
It is high time that we start looking at health care comprehensively in this country, because just focusing on the biological causes and treatments limits the effectiveness of care. Patients are not uni-dimensional and therefore our care can't be either.
Infection in the Young May Be Tied to Risk for Mental Illness:
https://consumer.healthday.com/infectious-disease-information-21/misc-infections-news-411/infections-in-the-young-may-be-tied-to-risk-for-mental-illness-study-740324.html
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