EVERYONE MATTERS


STORY BY TRISTA MEISTER CALEB 24 JULY - OCTOBER


is a sweet 16-year-old boy who enjoys lacrosse and plays the drums in the Palmet o Ridge High School marching band. He has a great sense of humor and is extremely bright, polite and articulate. This is a good day — a good hour — because he is using all the tools his therapist taught him.


On his bad days, he is suicidal, mad, aggressive and unable to sleep, and he engages in


self-harm. These good days are what keep him and his family afl oat in an ocean of daily ups and downs and mood swings.


Caleb’s mother Mellisa describes him as a happy, rambunctious, energetic child who struggled to make friends. She adds, “In third grade, we knew something wasn’t right. He would have huge, explosive blow-ups at school and have no remorse.” At just 10 years old, he told Mellisa (whose brother commit ed suicide) that he wanted to die, and she quickly sprang into action. He began seeing a psychiatrist in Tampa who diagnosed him with bipolar disorder, ADHD, oppositional defi ant


disorder and conduct disorder. The outlook was gloomy, and he shared that Caleb had “sociopathic, criminal poten- tial” if untreated. Medications helped in the beginning, but when the family moved to Naples and puberty hit, everything started to


unravel. The social pressures and ridicule from other children in middle school exacerbated his condition. He felt like a “loser” and had so much anger and pain that thoughts of suicide entered his mind every day, and self-harm was his only outlet. Caleb shares, “I was just trying to get through every day.” Mellisa was beside herself over fears that she would


lose him. She adds, “I felt so alone. Most days were so dark that it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Luckily for both of them, they got involved in the Health Under Guided Systems program through the National


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48