Families affected by teen suicide share their stories
Two families talked with FOX 13 about how their lives were impacted from teen suicide.
The Kirk family’s son, Tanner, survived an attempted suicide — but not without lifelong injuries. Tanner suffers from a condition called dystonia.
Tanner was 13 when he tried to hang himself. His family says he was an active kid who liked to play sports and did well in school. Tanner says he does not remember why he wanted to die, while his mother says she does not understand what went wrong.
“I didn’t see the signs of depression and it wasn’t like I was naive,” said Tanner’s mother Shelsee Kirk.
After two years, Tanner is still learning to deal with dystonia, a neurological disorder that has made him dependent on a wheelchair and needing a device to vocalize for him. The most basic of tasks are a challenge for him.
