Christina Whelan and husband Mike shared their son Joe’s story to WLWT on Wednesday. “His biggest goal was to be a normal kid. His goal.” A powerful little man.He has this little sparkle and personality and he’s so adorable.” A glimpse of a big smile as he holds a baseball, a fish he caught, a live turkey in his hand, it’s all about his world. It fit perfectly. Behind Joe’s expressive happy face lay an eating disorder and the emotional scars of being sexually abused as a boy. Around the time he turned 12, his parents noticed nightmares that increased his anxiety and changed his son’s behavior. Years of intermittent hospitalization and treatment followed, followed by 24/7 surveillance at home. I literally locked boxes all over the house with knives, scissors, forks and dog chains. Everything I could use to hurt myself was locked up,” his mother said. He graduated with honors, running cross-country at the Catholic University of Newport. He got a scholarship at NKU and majored in Neuroscience. After he turned 20, he was struck by COVID-19, disrupting his daily life and creating social isolation. Two years and a week before him, September 14, 2020, he said he was heading to class. “He had geolocation turned off.” Joe took his own life that day. His body was found by police near a church in the woods. Cincinnati Children of College Hill are building a new facility to enhance mental health treatment and prevention. For them to embrace their pain and suffering and really expose it as an inspiration to help others is truly a gift for all of us,” said Dr. Michael Soter, Child Director and Adolescent of CCHMC. period psychiatry said. He hopes to remove the social stigma of mental illness as a generational shift occurs. pain,” said Dr. Soter. “We are at an inflection point here and if we keep driving to improve our care system, some good things can really happen.” All proceeds from this event will go to Cincinnati Children. Donated to support treatment and prevention programs, especially for children and teens. Get help instead of ruining other people’s lives.” “We see people who don’t have their own, who don’t care, give it to others and pass on their cruelty to others.” You see things all the time, the world comes from those places,” he said. “So we need more people to deal with this and more people to take it seriously.” If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988. You can send and talk to Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Or you can chat online here.
Christina Whelan and husband Mike shared son Joe’s story with WLWT on Wednesday.
“His biggest goal was to be a normal kid,” Whelan said.
Judging strictly by his youth photos, he already seemed to have achieved his goal.
“Smart as a whip and funny as can be,” she recalled. is.”
One glimpse of his broad smile with a baseball, a fish he caught, a live turkey in his hand, and it fit right in with his world.
Behind Joe’s expressive happy face lay an eating disorder and the emotional scars of being sexually abused as a boy.
His parents suspected a trusted relative who had lost contact.
They said they could not pursue criminal prosecution because their son would not testify about it.
Around the time he turned 12, his parents noticed nightmares, increased anxiety, and changes in his son’s behavior. continued 24/7 monitoring.
Joe’s parents took turns sleeping on the floor near him to ensure his safety.
“There were literally lock boxes all over the house with knives, scissors, forks and dog leashes. Anything he could use to harm himself was locked,” his mother said. .
According to his parents, he hid everything from his classmates at Newport Central Catholic High School, where he ran cross-country and graduated with honors.
On an NKU scholarship, he majored in neuroscience.
After he turned 20, COVID-19 hit his routine, disrupting it and causing social isolation.
Two years and a week ago on September 14, 2020, he said he was heading to class.
“And around 4pm that day, Mike came down and said, ‘Joe called the pawn shop and the gun shop,'” Christina recalled softly. “He had his location turned off.”
That day, Joe killed himself. His body was found by police near a church in the woods.
Cincinnati Children in College Hill is building a new facility to enhance mental health treatment and prevention.
In a way, this is the $105 million project Whelans is helping build through stories.
“So for them to take their pain and suffering and actually reveal it as an inspiration to help others is a really great gift for all of us,” says Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. said at CCHMC with Dr. Michael Soter, director of
He hopes to remove the social stigma of mental illness as generational shifts occur.
“Younger people seem to be more open to this and more open to discussion.” If you keep going, some good things can really happen.”
These systems will benefit from a concert at the Aronoff Center on October 7th. At that concert, Andy Grammer comes to town to talk about his mental health struggles.
All proceeds from this event will go to Cincinnati Children to support treatment and prevention programs specifically for children and teens.
Joe’s father said that people who tend to abuse others should confront their own demons and seek help instead of ruining other people’s lives.
“We constantly see people who don’t have or care for theirs pass it on to others, and much of the world’s atrocities come from those places. “So more people need to take care of it, more people who take it seriously.”
If you or someone you know needs help, you can call or text 988 to speak with Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. chat online here.
