Andrea Gunning

And using prescription drugs and alcohol and whatever else to try to hold on long enough that I could get better.

It got to the point that Saskia checked herself into the hospital twice.

They just adjusted my medications and I felt more hopeful.

I felt healthier.

My sleep got a little bit better.

Everyone saw Saskia's improvement, including Mike.

He wrote her a card in the hospital, encouraging her to keep going.

It felt like just what I needed.

After a few days in the hospital, she would feel better.

It was as if a fog had lifted.

I would start to do better and get out and have some hope.

And I would quickly like decompensate again.

As they watched Saskia's ups and downs, Marisa and Mike were at a loss.

Saskia seemed to be going down a similar road to her dad.

Here's Marisa.

My dad got to a point where we couldn't get him back to baseline.

But I spent a good portion of my adult life trying to help him find quality of life.

We didn't want Saskia to lose her baseline.

You know, we wanted her to have her life.

And so it's like that seems to be slipping away.