Man Suffers With PTSD; Needs Help

After a failed attempt to kill himself, and several other cries for help, Bobby Mitchell finally found a diagnosis and is receiving the help he needs.

But his journey has been a tough one, and he has a long way to go. Bobby prefers to sit in his room all day and listen to music, avoiding contact with anyone, even his four children. He suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) according to his counselors and therapists, and they are working hard with him to regulate medicine and provide counseling so that he can become a productive member of society again.

Bobby’s illness changed him dramatically. When he was in high school, his father, Bobby Mitchell, Sr., was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. So Bobby began work to try to help the family out. He was working with a septic tank company, and one day he was behind the truck when the homeowner pulled in the driveway and rather than braking, hit the gas.

He saw the car coming and jumped up, so the only thing it got was his right knee. But get it it did. And, if his dad had not been there to put a belt around his leg to serve as a tourniquet, Bobby most likely wouldn’t be here today. He tells how the car kept coming and his knee was just churning between the bumper of the car and the back of the septic truck. It was traumatic to say the least.

He was hospitalized for a month, then had to recover at home. He credits Lionel Taylor with him graduating from high school, as Mr. Taylor would come to the house and help him keep up with his studies. After graduation, he worked—hard. He had several different jobs, and gave them his all, but he wasn’t able to keep steady employment, probably because of mental issues.

Before the accident in high school and in the initial years after, Bobby, and his wife, Tasha, say he was happy-go-lucky, the life of the party, had lots of friends and was always going and doing. Now, he only leaves his room to go to the doctor. He said, many times, that it was really hard to come to The News office and open up about what is going on with him.

But, none of that was brought to light until 2017 when he was working with a crew on the highway, and the driver of a tractor-trailer fell asleep at the wheel and veered of the road to where Bobby was working. The truck knocked Bobby’s hard hat off, and brushed him off the road. It was scary. And that’s when things got bad. After that, he was plagued with nightmares, and the desire to hurt himself. He cut himself, he tried to hang himself, he alienated others.

His therapist said his level is PTSD is the same as someone who has served in the military. When his leg was hurt, it was like watching yourself bleed to death, the therapist explained. But he kept those emotions bottled up inside until the truck nearly struck him, and that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

At this stage in his treatment, Bobby is not supposed to be left alone. His wife was instructed to get all the knives, guns, and anything else he could potentially hurt himself with out of the house. Even with that, he has such anxiety when riding up the road, he has tried to jump out of the vehicle. Which happens to be a 2003 Ford Windstar that has seen better days. They would like to purchase a used sport-utiilty vehicle as they live on a dirt road, and an SUV would better handle the commute to the doctors.

Bobby has applied for disability, and hopes to hear before long if he’s been approved. His therapist has sent in the documentation of his condition. He no longer has a drivers’ license, so his wife takes him to appointments. They live with her mother and grandmother which is good, because they help out with taking care of the children—Corine, 8; Birdie, 6; Loretta, 3, and William 2.

Mrs. Mitchell cannot work between taking care of the children and taking care of Bobby. She drives him to all his appointments and keeps a check on him every day. So they need help. They have Go Fund Me page started, and he has reached out to everyone he can on Facebook trying to get some help until his disability payments begin.

He struggled to tell me about his life. He said he hates not being able to provide for his family. He requires a walker now, so he can’t even handle routine maintenance on the family’s vehicle, for example, something he always did before. He said he loves working on cars, but he can’t do it now. He was walking with a cane, and when he had an MRI, he learned both knees were being affected, and he was told to get a walker and use it. It is much better, he says, but he still has pain daily in the bad knee. He also suffers from restless leg syndrome.

Bobby can’t remember anything. He says he doesn’t remember his childhood, and if he looks at a photo, he just draws a blank. It makes him angry, and it’s hard to talk about it, he said. He said he can’t hug his kids, and doesn’t want to play with them. The intimacy is gone from the marriage. He has no feelings, he said. He doesn’t do family events, he said, although he has two brothers and two sisters, and everyone lives nearby. He said he can’t remember anything, especially who he used to be.

Bobby sits in his room and listens to music. He also has taken up painting, and that seems to help. He actually almost cracked a smile a couple of times while he was being interviewed.

And his counselor is not confident that he will ever get to 100 percent. Between the therapist and the medical doctor they are doing all they can.

Early in his and Tasha’s marriage, they had their own house, insurance, and more. He made good money. But, whatever he had managed to save has been eaten up now, and they need help.

The couple said people don’t understand mental illness; they can understand his physical limitations, but there is still a stigma with mental illness. Bobby and Tasha are hoping telling his story helps people to understand mental illness, and they also hope some will be inspired to give to them…perhaps a used SUV; perhaps just a little cash to get to the counselor. Donations may be made through Paypal, paypal.me/help3430.