Help us raise money

Katie and I are participating in the run for life to raise awareness for mental health and in memory of my son and Katie's brother, Tanner. More needs to be done to save our youth and to help teach them to cope with life's challenges and seek help if necessary. Tanner was the champion for the underdog. He was bullied as a young child, so much so, that I pulled him out of school and homeschooled him for a year. Those bullies shaped his life and his self-esteem. He became everyone’s protector, defender and champion. But, he also needed everyone's approval to make him feel that he was worthy. After Tanner died we received so many messages from his friends, acquaintances and parents telling us stories about how he was there for them, protecting them, cheering them on when no one else would. Saying hi and asking them how they were because he knew they were having a bad day. This world needed Tanner to stay in it. He would have done great things to improve it! Losing Tanner didn't just affect his family but affected many who knew him. Secondary losses are also not something that is commonly known or discussed. Losing friends because they don't know what to do, how to handle it or you, or how to speak to it is common. Family are so torn because they don't know what to do either. In the words of my father "I just want to take the pain away." For the people left behind suicide is a complicated traumatic event that takes lots of care and healing to overcome. We need to collectively do everything we can to prevent more suicides.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others.” Pericles. And, I know Tanner is woven into so many of us.