On Sept. 9, more than 75 Nebraska Medicine and UNMC colleagues participated in the Out of the Darkness Walk, an event aimed at raising awareness of the warning signs of suicide and support those who have lost someone they love.
One of the organizers of the team, Callie Leahy, care transitions nurse, lost her friend and Nebraska Medicine nurse Amanda Stotts to suicide on Oct. 15, 2015.
“Amanda struggled with depression for years,” Leahy said. “She also struggled with being compliant with her medication. She did not want the medication to control her.”
Leahy said she knew Stotts was struggling, but was reassured by her promise that she would never hurt herself.
“She couldn’t find her way out of a black hole,” Leahy said. “I didn’t know how to help her. I felt so ill equipped. It’s such an awful feeling to watch someone struggle and not know how to help.”
Stotts’ death inspired Leahy to organize the med center’s first-ever team in last year’s Out of the Darkness Walk.
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I wish this event, and these resources, had been publicized more broadly and sooner. I am an MD, an MPH student, and a "student" employee of UNMC. I have been depressed for 30+ years, treated for major depression for the past 20 years, and had suicidal thoughts intermittently frequently during that time (including recently).
Dr. Bosley, I am very glad you submitted your comments. I am positive it will be helpful for others to read. It is good to know and be reminded that we are all human. Please stay with us. Your insight is invaluable to struggling lives here on campus and beyond.