Kathryn Carroll is a suicide survivor. She lost her 31 year old son Paul to suicide in April.
“We found out he had severe dental issues and he had pain and was numbing himself with alcohol and pain medication,” she told News Two.
But his emotional pain was too much. To survive life after his death, Carroll is now reaching out to other survivors for support.
“He was a treasure and it’s devastated our family, but stuff like this helps me. It’s like little band-aids on my heart and I feel like my heart is in a million pieces and I’m trying hold it,” she explained, her eyes filled with tears.
She and her family joined this “Out of the Darkness” walk for suicide survivors in downtown Charleston to find a helping hand...support from others who know her struggle—a group encouraging her that while the waves of grief will keep rolling in, they’ll eventually be smaller and she’ll recover quicker.
“You’re never going to be the same and that’s okay. A big part of you is gone and you have to learn to live knowing a big part of you is gone.”
Her mission now, to tell her son’s story. Hoping to save a life so that her son’s death wasn’t in vain.
Carroll is currently writing a book about her experience as a survivor. It will also include writings from her sister and daughter about how her son’s suicide has affected them all.
For more information about the Survivors of Suicide Support Group call Charlotte Anderson at 566-7183 or 747-3007.
Resources:
http://www.suicidology.org
http://www.afsp.org
http://www.sfsuicide.org/html/warning.html
Source: WCBD - Charleston, SC
