REGAN

"I joined the I'm Glad You Stayed Project because I lost my mother Sandra Lee Donovan on February 14, 2010, due to suicide, she stole medicine from the hospital she worked at and injected herself with them early that morning. I was four at the time and growing up my father always used to tell me she passed away from "illness" back then I couldn't understand the fact that he meant a mental illness. As the years went on my dad realized that I also suffered from the same mental illnesses that caused her to take her own life. Fast forward to middle school I fell into a deep depression and spent a lot of my time wondering why she left me. Eventually, it got so bad that I didn't want to do anything. I hated myself and believed that everyone around me would also leave me. I joined because I want to spread awareness of how suicide affects the people around you once you're gone. And that no matter who you are someone always cares and will be affected. I still struggle every day because of the choice my mother made."