There are two types of people, in my narrow, simplistic viewpoint. Those that find out about the last four months of the Clancy children’s life and blame Lindsay and those that see a system designed to be inefficient, at best.
Those in the “treat her the same way” she did her children point out that Lindsay Clancy was a medical professional herself. She had access to medical care, had means, and should have told someone she wanted to kill her children. She could function or appear “normal” so there can be no excuse as to why she killed her children, Callan, Dawson and Cora. Her husband was supportive of her desire to lessen her symptoms and assisted her in her search for a “cure”. She had supportive relatives. She is to blame.
Those in the systemic breakdown camp, see a woman that sought treatment from the right people, in the right places, but those people and places did not communicate between themselves. They view the list of psychotropic medicines that were prescribed and hear or read what Lindsay Clancy herself said and wonder if the prescribers were just checking boxes. They read or hear about the self-reported, worsening symptoms and wonder how anyone could believe she was okay to be left alone.
Our current method of treatment of mental health issues is to medicate, observe the effects, and then adjust the medication. It relies on self-reporting of symptoms and utilize scales that indicate whether a person is a or b. Sometimes, medication for a makes b much worse.
Which is probably what happened to Lindsay Clancy. Medication for general depression can make someone with bipolar disorder much worse.
Off/on topic. My uncle was showing signs of Parkinson’s. He was placed on medication that made his symptoms much worse. He had Lewy Body Disease. His hallucinations became much more pronounced and his body was less in his own control. It was awful to observe.
The brain is a tricky thing and brain chemistry is as well. I understand completely that there is no blood test for depression, anxiety, bipolar, insert name here, but when providers prescribe medication, there needs to be a better way.
Furthermore, what happens to the mother that doesn’t have access to clinicians, facilities and psychiatrists, and is suffering postpartum disorder? What happens to the mother who lacks medical care because she can’t afford to carry her coverage? What happens to her children?
We live in a country that chooses to use our resources in a questionable way. Shouldn’t we want all of our citizens to receive medical care? Is our mental health less important than subsidizing anything else? Should a lack of means prevent any mother, child or person from receiving mental health care? Who would you pick to not receive care?
Lindsay Clancy did a terrible thing and we can agree to disagree on her culpability. Those in the “strangle her like she did her children” crowd can site a woman who never reported the desire to murder her children, as “proof” that she was shedding herself of her children. I can’t help but wonder how the questions, “do you want to harm yourself?” and “do you want to harm others?” may be answered by someone that worked with infants and mothers. Answering yes to either would mean a threat to her future employment. Self-reporting, alone, may not be the best way to ascertain these things.
It doesn’t matter which side of this you fall on. Can you honestly say our current system is working for most of us?
It didn’t work for Callan, Dawson, Cora or Lindsay.
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