Our Nikki was a talented artist, musician, runner and a scholar. Oh! And she was an avid hiker❤ which is how I got to know her. It was on a hike only a few months ago that we chatted about her upcoming high school graduation and her excitement at entering Colorado State University this fall. We even made plans to do the Bolder Boulder and the Georgetown half marathon. I was aware that she had experienced some mental health issues and assumed she had conquered the depression that would periodically grip her. She looked forward to her next adventures and there was no doubt in my mind there would be many.
Upon learning that she had died by suicide, I needed answers. It made no sense that a happy, energetic and talented young woman would take her own life. Through my limited research, I learned that suicide is actually a leading cause of death for Colorado’s youth and young adults. It remains a complex issue, with no one cause and with no quick fix. However, there is encouraging news. Thanks, in part, to facilities such as Children’s Hospital, the suicide rate is trending downward. Backed by the most recent research, the interdisciplinary team approach at the Colorado-based facility offers suicide prevention programs which offers hope, connectedness and recovery to each child and the whole family.
To our donors and potential donors, because of your generosity, the staff at Children’s Hospital will continue to offer the much needed mental and other medical services to our youth and families. If you have not made a donation to support the work of Children’s, please consider doing so. Perhaps, the mental health issues which lead to thoughts of suicide are currently so complex that we can’t save every child, but maybe we can save one more. To that child, that child’s family and to us, that is another step forward.
