Late at night on May 27, 2026, we received a phone call: we learned that our 27 year old daughter had passed away. Our daughter spent most of her life known as our son. She was our youngest child, and was just an incredibly special person who mapped out and lived her own life, on her own terms. Post-high school, she went to heavy equipment operator school and became a crane operator. After a few years working construction, she moved to California with her life partner and through talent and willpower, she worked her way into an engineering job in information security for a large silicon valley company. It was also in California where she allowed the world to finally see her as she saw herself on the inside. She began struggling with symptoms of mental illness just before her 21st birthday. At first those symptoms were minor, but they grew over time to the point of being very disruptive to her life. We tried like hell to help her, to get her to seek help for herself. One factor of the mental illness she was bearing was that it prevented her from even realizing she had mental illness, and in turn that kept her from receiving the sort of treatment that might have helped her to live with it. Ultimately, as it was said by our therapist: mental illness has a mortality rate, just like other illnesses. Our daughter set down the heavy burden she had been carrying so far and for so long. We hope that she is now in a place of peace, with clarity of mind and freedom from fear, a place where it doesn't feel like the world is always so hostile and confusing. We hope she knows just how much we love her, now and forever. --- > [!info] > originally published 2026-07-10. Contact [email protected]