My Mother’s Change

For the typical four-year-old, learning to bathe, comb their hair or brush their teeth are everyday skills that they can expect their parents to assist them with. Yet for Mahogany Lorenzo, that was not the case. When Lorenzo was four she started to notice changes in her family dynamic. Her mother’s behavior started to become questionable and strange. Lorenzo had heard other family members talking about her mother, but could not fully comprehend what was happening. It was not until one day her father finally sat her down and tried his best to explain what schizophrenia was.

Although Lorenzo had the answer to her mother’s unusual disposition, she still was having trouble processing the whole situation. As Lorenzo got older her mother’s behavior started to worsen. “She would simply get up in the middle of the night and leave the house,” Lorenzo said. “She would get on a bus and go out of town without telling anyone. There were even times when she would hallucinate, she would become extremely paranoid and see or hear things that were not really there.”

At that point, Lorenzo realized the severity of her mother’s mental state. She began to see the impact that schizophrenia had on her mother’s life. According to the American Psychiatric Association, schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects about one percent of the population. That is about 70 million people in the world. When the disorder is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. Sadly, there is no cure.

Lorenzo ’s mother’s case was so overwhelming that she had to be sent to a mental facility. In addition to her mother being separated from their family, it also led to Lorenzo ’s parents getting a divorce. “My father gained full custody of me and he began to take on “motherly roles,” Lorenzo said. “Because my mom was away at the mental facility, my father was the one who had to explain to me what a menstrual cycle was. He tried his best, but there were times when I truly wished my mother had been there to help me.”

After 14 months in the mental facility, Lorenzo ’s mother was finally released. Her mother was now living with her grandmother and seemed to have made progress from when Lorenzo was a child.

Thirteen years had passed by and it was time for Lorenzo to go off to college. She was extremely excited to embark on her new journey, but that excitement was overshadowed when her mother suddenly relapsed. “My grandmother told my mom she was about to move to Mississippi and I guess that is what triggered her schizophrenia to become active again,” Lorenzo said. “The agony of being alone frightened her. Therefore, I had to find her shelter, clean up behind her, buy all her groceries, keep up with her medicine intake, and I became her main source of transportation.”

Lorenzo had developed a sense of independence that most teens her age would not experience until later on in life. Although she was trying to juggle the most crucial part of her college career and her mother’s illness, she still managed to get it done. “In my heart, I knew that if my mom would have controlled her mental state, she would have,” Lorenzo said. It was not her fault that she had to live with schizophrenia, and that is why I felt obligated to help her through it.”

Based on research from the Mayo Clinic, schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment, even when symptoms have subsided. Given there is no cure for schizophrenia, research is leading to safer, new treatments.

Due to her mother relapsing, she had to be admitted into a mental facility again. This time Lorenzo had to admit her herself because she was the only other family member her mom had at the time. She decided to reach out to a family friend and nurse, Jacey Glascoe. Glascoe was able to help Lorenzo with the process of getting her mother into another mental facility. She also gave her educated insight on how to cope with family members schizophrenia and the types of medicine that her mother should be taking.

While her mother was rehabilitating, Lorenzo took the time out to research the medicines that Glascoe suggested. Before she relapsed, Lorenzo had witnessed her mother in a “zombie-like state” after taking a new prescription medicine she was given. “I have had several family members of schizophrenic patients bring them into the hospital because the medicine they were prescribed made them quiet and/or slow to react,” Glascoe said.

Lorenzo figured that if her mother had to live with schizophrenia she wanted her to have the best treatment and medicine that would allow her to live a normal everyday life.

This was her mother’s second time in a mental facility and after five months, she was released. This time, Lorenzo feels as though her mother received the best possible help she could have.“Even though she still suffers from schizophrenia, she seems normal now,” said Lorenzo. “I can talk to her about what is going on in my life, she is able to drive again, she can perform everyday skills without any complications, and she is working on getting her own house again.” Though Lorenzo’s life was not like most kids growing up, her mother’s illness has made her more aware of mental wellness.“I find myself sort of preaching to people about taking care of their mental health. I encourage people to talk to someone or seek counseling if they feel extremely overwhelmed by life,” she said. “My mother's life did not begin because of schizophrenia and I refuse to allow it to end because of schizophrenia.”

If you or someone you know may be experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia, encourage them to see a professional physician or call the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) at 1–800–950-NAMI (6264).