Mental illness brought tragedy into Donna Craig’s life, and now the New Brunswick women is opening up to help others find the courage to do so too.
Craig shared her story as the keynote speaker of A Day In Her Shoes, a sold-out fundraiser held in Saint John Wednesday evening in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s local office.
She hopes to help fight the stigma surrounding mental illness.
“I think by listening to other people’s story, you learn about another aspect of mental illness,” Craig said.
“Everybody will talk about their operations or anything else they’ve had, but they won’t mention anything about their mental health, and that’s a shame."
Craig’s story takes place two years ago, when her son Dana was working in Alberta.
Dana has bipolar disorder, and at that time was going through a psychotic episode.
“We pretty well knew he was having an episode then. His roommates knew there was something drastically wrong,” Craig said.
Craig’s husband Terry decided to go out west and bring Dana back to New Brunswick.
“Terry had a good relationship with Dana and if Terry said ‘let’s go on a road trip,’ Dana would have gone. He enjoyed it,” Craig said.
“The thought of driving back across Canada with his father was something to look forward to.”
However, tragedy struck the family when Dana attacked and killed his father at a motel in Brandon, Man.
He was found not criminally responsible for his father’s death.
As hard as it is, Craig says it’s important to share her story so others aren’t embarrassed to open up about mental health.
And it’s making a difference, according to people working in the field.
“What an advocate for many families who are going through mental health issues and what a strong and resilient family this is,” said Dawn O’Dell of the Canadian Mental Health Association.
As for Dana, he is making progress. Craig says he is being treated with medications and is living in a halfway house.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron
