Letter to a Friend

On August 12, 2014 my friend Cody made an attempt to end his life. He took a drug overdose, and was rushed to emergency soon after. He was put on life support, but his brain had been without oxygen for too long. August 19th, 2014 he was declared brain dead and the decision was made to take him off life support.

I didn't know what had happen till a few days after the first incident. My parents knew, but hadn't told me because they were hoping to be able to tell me that 'yes, Cody did this, but he's going to be okay'. The evening I found out, I had been browsing the internet, and I saw messages that had been posted to Cody's brother's facebook page stating their concern for Cody.

Knowing that Cody had been depressed, yet not knowing the details of what he had done, I waited anxiously to find out exactly what had happened. During that time, I wrote this letter to him. I knew he would not see it, but I needed to get my emotions down, to say what I was feeling. My parents arrived home later that evening and, when I asked them, told me the sad news.

I had no intentions of sharing this. It's one of the most personal things I have ever written, and I'm not one that enjoys pouring her heart out on the internet. Yet in the months following Cody's death I realized that there are other people going through similar situations. It is for these reasons that this exists, open to anyone's eyes. You may read it if you wish, and know that if you ever need to talk to somebody, no matter how small or insignificant the issue, I'm here for you.

If you wish to comment, please be respectful. Realize that these are real people in very real situations and even the slightest unkind word can do more damage than you realize.