Against All Odds
Akiko Poltanowich, Parent -- Michio Kusama, PH.D. Counselor
| I keep asking myself how can this
happen to me? I have two children with schizophrenia. My son is in Napa
State Hospital and my daughter lives in a board and care home. My
husband died after being paralyzed for 20 years. I feel so alone and
isolated. I no longer have friends. How could they understand? At
General Hospital there is a support group for families of the mentally
ill. There I am with people who understand.
Akiko Paltanowich, Parent |
| Living in a
small Japanese-speaking community where one’s identity is easily
known, one needs courage to come out into the open and reveal having a
child with mental illness. Mrs. Paltanowich is such a person. Courageous
and dedicated, she has been fighting to improve the conditions of the
mentally ill for years.
Michio Kusama, Ph.D.,Counselor |
