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'Inhumane' treatment in Japanese hospital behind NZ man's death: kin

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The New Zealand family have a case to answer themselves by allowing their bi-polar/schizophrenic relative travel to Japan in the first place. Yeah it's not in the article what mental problem he had but let's call a spade a spade.

I knew this man personally as he lived near me. He was happy and loved his students. It had been his dream to come to Japan for ages. Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldnt carry out your dreams. He thought it'd be okay if he stopped taking his meds and when they didnt, he was courageous enough to seek help out. It was the bad Japanese health care that did this. He wasn't dangerous or violent.

24 ( +24 / -0 )

There have been times when I thought I should have been restrained to a bed, but ten days is too long. they should have had him back on his meds and getting back on track sooner, but if they did not have his medical records they most likely started from scratch. They should have been in contact with his regular Doctor, if he had one. The language barrier may have also been a problem in this situation.

I suffer from a Schizoaffective disorder, and I know how the guy felt when he thought he was OK to go off his meds, I have done it many a time, but I had and still have members of my family to make sure I get right back on them. In my opinion, I don't believe he should have been working around children, I know I would not trust myself, because you never know when you might have an episode, mental illness's are treatable, but your body is always fighting the medication, so it can be hard to live a normal life at times.

As for the "Most Japanese doctors are bad physicians." comment, I have been to about 10 different mental clinics here in Japan, six were OK, two were bad, and two were excellent! The ones in the States were all bad, when your time is up, you have to go, and they all seem so preoccupied, but in Japan they talk with you until you are finished talking and are comfortable, that is the reason why waits are so long.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

Mental illness is a terrible thing that goes undiagnosed in so many people, especially in Japan. I cannot count the amount of people I see having a good old chat with themselves on the train or those who just snap and start abusing people for the slightest reason. I've been a victim of the latter quite a few times. An inmate should only be restrained if they are a danger to themselves. If they are a danger to others they should be isolated. There is nothing to indicate this guy was a danger to himself or others, which leaves the question, why was he restrained at all?

9 ( +11 / -2 )

I have a close family member who worked in a psychiatric hospital. She made me promise that if she ever becomes old and senile, I will smother her with a pillow instead of admitting her to one of these places. The horrors for both patients and staff is just unimaginable for most people.

Ultimately there is no legislation or regulation, and no amout of money that will ever be able to force strangers to treat your psychotic loved ones in the compassionate way you want them to be treated. You really have to do it yourself unfortunately.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Not surprised. Maybe Suga, with his promise to look into human rights, can offer to help a third party investigate this instead of letting the hospital do its own internal investigation, lose the paperwork, forget everything, and ultimately say nothing improper was done and while international norms were ignored.

6 ( +12 / -6 )

@Middleoftheroad

Hard story. Thanks for that.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

@Middleoftheroad;

Thanks for sharing that personal information & hopefully some people out there will not be so quick to make judgements on people who are ill.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Hammerhead, we do know that because the family was in the hospital with him and saw him restrained. They didn't need to understand the language or read his medical records, it was done openly, right in front of them.

Also, you seem to be projecting a lot with your comments about money. Nowhere does it say they are suing for money. It says they are publicizing the case in the hopes of preventing the same thing happening to others.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldn't carry out your dreams

Depends on the illness (someone here mentioned schizophrenia). If it's schizophrenia that is some serious business and a person with that terrible mental illness should stay put locally. If anyone has known anyone schizophrenic would 100% agree- Don't go to Japan.

He thought it'd be okay if he stopped taking his meds

This is often creates downward spiral for the mentally ill (and people - family - watching out for them). When a mental patients start thinking he or she is OK they start thinking on their own that they can go ahead and stop taking meds- it's only a matter of time before things get very very bad and very very ugly. Again, the degree of how bad depends on the actual illness. Mentally ill people sometimes can't help themselves if they decide to stop taking meds. It can be like dealing with a child. But able minded people around mentally ill people who don't get worried about the mental patient stopping taking their meds are not doing anyone any favors.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

@Speed.

I guess the opposite is the case, concerning allowed drugs. My wife had psychotropic drugs, which are forbidden in the States and Great Britain, but not in Japan. For me, this looks like testing on other countries people. E.g. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK admitted illegally marketing several of its drugs for uses that had not been approved by safety regulators) is 'famous' for dangerous drugs - just search for Paxil (Black Box Warnings: Suicide).

But for the family of this poor man, it is very sad. They should have taken him back to NZ to treat, only because of communicating in their own language.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Without knowing any details about his mental state it seems pretty callous to pass judgment on the victim or his family.

The hospital, on the other hand, appears to have completely failed to do their job. If they couldn't handle their patient, they should have transferred him to a hospital that could.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Such a sad story. I also read the Guardian story referenced by Cosmos. The treatment sounds barbaric. So this man was bi-polar and his brother was told he would "be in restraints a long time". Someone very close to me is bi-polar (quite a severe case) and I find the comment by the hospital to be ridiculous. There are other methods to control someone who is manic and it usually involves sedation, not restraint for such a long period of time. Temporary restrain is understandable, however it appears what the hospital did was excessive. In addition, deep vein thrombosis is not some new phenomenon. Any competent health care worker should be well aware of what it is and what the causes are. Heck there are even videos on airplanes on how to avoid DVT. This young man did not have to die! I find it interesting they will not release records to his brother either (as stated in the Guardian article).

It is quite likely this guy's condition would be recoverable (as it seems the root cause of his latest incident was him trying to go off his medication - something I have witnessed someone do personally). Many bi-polar medications have some pretty severe side effects and during treatment often times the objective is to reduce the medications to the lowest possible amount and in the long term try to get off of them. However if this young man quit "cold turkey" the effects of suddenly stopping medication are often pretty severe (usually it is done gradually).

Again. This young man did not need to die! Very sad and very wrong. In spite of how much I like Japan and living here this is one area where Japan really falls short (very short)....mental health diagnosis and treatment.

Finally some of the comments people make seem very cold, judgmental, and just downright cruel.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I wonder if he wasn't allowed to take his medications. There are a lot of drugs that people aren't allowed to use here but are back in their home countries.

I had a teacher at one of my schools who went into panic attacks because she wasn't allowed to bring her medications from her home country. She eventually had to leave Japan because of that.

Also why was he strapped in for 10 days? I wish the article would've explained why the hospital did that.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Good luck on this one. Hospitals here are very experienced at covering up malpractice. Malpractice suits in Japan are not a common thing. I know first hand.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Here's the real story here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/13/new-zealand-man-dies-tied-bed-japanese-hospital

Golden week and staff shortages not to mention his brother was with him

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Regardless of his mental illness, the fact that they kept him strapped up for 10 straight days and didn't even consider that he might then develop DVT is a massive failure on part of the hospital. Let's consider what that word means in fact...it's not a clinic, not a psychiatrist's office it's a HOSPITAL, and they still couldn't predict such an outcome? In the huge Osaka train derailment about 10 years ago people suffered from basically the same thing (crush syndrome) after only about 12 hours. He was strapped down tight for 10 days for crying out loud.

It reminds me of the prisoners who were killed by being strapped too tightly in jail (or did they also die due to DVT?) Japan needs to sort itself out on this ridiculous overuse of full-body restraints.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I am experiencing the system here a life and generally I am satisfied with it. Recurring Suicidal Depression .

Plenty of Doctors/Staff that studied and/or worked overseas, 3 of my Doc's are multi-lingual(fluent).

Language/culture barriers can be a problem though. My Doc's will happily adjust medication after a consultation up or down on request.

Currently on 2 tablets/day(depression and sleeping pills). My condition is a recurring one thus little chance to get fully cured.

My meds reduce the up/down swings and thus allow me to live an average life, my condition is not apparent to the casual observer.

There are also 2 weekly nurse visits at home by staff trained in mental issues.

I checked my conditions code with the ICD-10 Guide. And fully researched my meds and recommended dosages.

Improvements can be done everywhere, don't know of one system that gets it 100% correct all the time.

My 0.2 devalued yen.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

According to the family, Savage came to Japan in 2015 to teach English in elementary and high schools through a Japanese government program.

And I though people were thoroughly screened for this "nameless" program!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldn't carry out your dreams.

Actually, that's exactly what it means.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

In America, we often have a simple solution for these people. The police either shoot them, choke them to death, or beat them to death 'accidentally'. The survivors we put in prison. Or, at least, that's how it seems. There actually has been good care for most victims of mental unbalance under Medicaid but the trumpthugs want to cut these programs to give money to the rich. So we'll see.

The difficulty with 'medications' as I've heard it described by patients is that it is like having one's head in a vise, uncomfortable. Sometimes when the meds are working well, the person will 'feel good' and think "I don't need these meds anymore" and motivated by the discomfort will stop taking the medication. Then, after a short time (not immediate usually), things become very difficult for the person and for those around them which, as suggested earlier for America, involves the police and their one-size fits all approach to disobedience: violence. If the now deranged person is lucky, they may be taken to a locked ward, medication re-established, and self-preserving behavior restored. But most such facilities in America are over populated and residence times average a week or two before they are expelled back out into the wild. If they have no one to look after them, they are on their own.

I suspect Mr. Savage, feeling good after a year at least in Japan, decided to see if he 'really needed' his meds and had no one to judge for him when his behavior began to deteriorate and went into full blown relapse. Of all things judged harshly in Nihon, inappropriate behavior for whatever reason is high on the list, and when it occurs in a gaikokujin must seem even more alarming and intolerable to even a trained clinician. It's possible that whatever medication(s) Mr. Savage had been taking were not familiar to his caregivers and, if they tried others, could have made his condition worse. We have no records so anything is just speculation. Deep vein thrombosis has been a concern for long distance coach passengers for years but it may be that Nihonjin are less susceptible due to their walking habits so, again, clinicians may have missed it as a concern. Also, we do not know Mr. Savage's physical proportions which may have been problematic for Japanese staff, as well.

If things go in Japan as they do in America, we may never get a clear picture of the facts. Regarding Mr. Savage, I admire his courage because he, more than anyone, understood his vulnerability but still chose to follow his dream. Almost any dream worth following has the possibility of mortality of one sort or another hidden in it, even if it's just slow starvation. But, as we see 250,000 times a year in the U.S., receiving 'healthcare' of any kind down to wart removal has its own risks. Despite all the hype regarding 'modern' healthcare, hype which has been with us for a couple of hundred years, it is still a rather primitive business involving mostly poison and butchery, however 'sophisticated' that poison and butchery may seem. Mr. Savage was a victim of many variables as we all face everytime we get out of bed and people have died just doing that. To Mr. Savage, Requiescate in Pace. To everyone else, keep your eyes, ears, and perception open at all times. And Good Luck to us all.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@nishkat

"Some people might not understand what schizophrenia is until someone they know has it- or unless you look into it extensively. Yes, they do have that voice inside of them. They believe the TV is talking to them. "

What you are describing is a person with positive symptoms. They suffer much worse than people such as myself, I suffer from mostly negative and cognitive symptoms, I have never had hallucinations, but suffer from absent emotional responses, Social withdrawal, Impaired attention,  an inability to experience pleasure, and lethargy. the only positive symptom I have is persecutory delusions.

The man that passed may have had his family here, but they needed someone who could be a go between. I am not sure what his condition actually was, but Bipolar Disorder alone is hard and you can experiences some of the same symptoms of people with schizophrenia.

After I read the article Cosmos1 put up, I can see that the hospital is pretty much to blame for this. People with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder should never be too far from a loved one, for they are the only people who can see the change coming and make any real effort to get them treatment or get them back on their medication. Like you said they/I will need someone to look after us our whole lives, we are a burden to our families at times, but we did not ask to be born this way, If anything, I hope people can sympathize with that fact!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

pacint: Always relieved to her positive experiences. Would you mind to tell us by which medical health care facility your are taken care of. I would like to pass it on. Thank you.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

We don't know that. Do the family speak Japanese sufficiently to read medical reports or even interact with the staff?

@Hammerhead - The first article I read about this case was on Thursday. It mentioned his brother had been living in Japan for several years with his Japanese wife and I think child or children. I'll see if I can find the article again. But that would suggest they have a decent ability within the family to communicate fluently in Japanese.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Japan will never admit to their in-humane malpractice and mis-treatments of non-japanese people in their establishment. Be it the police holding cells or hospitals, death due to negligence should not be easily brushed off. The families need closure and an explaination.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Really! Well maybe when one of your close friends starts telling you that Satan is watching him from his bedroom window, you will better understand mental illness and use it accordingly.

Have a few thumbs down on this comment so just to clarify, yes, a friend of mine went schizophrenic at 18 years old and this is what he said to me.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Have a few thumbs down on this comment so just to clarify, yes, a friend of mine went schizophrenic at 18 years old and this is what he said to me.

Some people might not understand what schizophrenia is until someone they know has it- or unless you look into it extensively. Yes, they do have that voice inside of them. They believe the TV is talking to them. They see a car parked and think the headlights are blinking at them. Check youtube for schizophrenia simulation for some really scary stuff then consider yourself lucky it is not you. This disease is so bad that their parents will be taking care of their schizophrenic child until they die instead of the other way around which is really sad. And I'm sorry about your friend and 18 is about the age when it starts to get bad.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Not sure how much that would help unless you are close to me.

The Hospital's are popular and usually fully booked. My nurse station is N-Field(Machida HQ).

All need referrals, luckily my GP is also certified in mental health, allergies and works closely with city-hall.

So easier to check myself in if/when needed.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Hammerhead - I can't find the same article now but here is one that does state he lives in Japan with his wife and two young children.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/335007/call-for-answers-after-nz-man-dies-in-japan-hospital

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Fizbit - Really! Well maybe when one of your close friends starts telling you that Satan is watching him from his bedroom window, you will better understand mental illness and use it accordingly.

I read this three times and still have no idea what the heck it is about or why you posted it in response to my comment relating to undiagnosed mental illness. I hope you were instrumental in getting your friend into care and counselling - or, at least got him off the bongs.

Just to reiterate on my previous comment. Most cases of mental illness go completely undiagnosed and untreated. This is simply because those who suffer mental illness are not aware of their illness and will deny any mental issues. It is up to the family and friends of the sufferers to convince them they need help and to ensure they receive it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Most cases of mental illness go completely undiagnosed and untreated. 

Sorry. I overreacted. I guess my point was that it is rather impossible for someone suffering from delusional schizophrenia to not get noticed at some point and get help. And I guess you were speaking of conditions like depression and anxiety. Maybe.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

In the old days they might of used padded cells and straightjackets but the politically correct got rid of them too.

There are two posters here who have bravely admitted to living with mental health issues. They should be applauded because when people come forward it helps remove the stigma and downright ignorance that surrounds such conditions.

Would you go back to the "old days"?

A hundred and fifty years ago, epileptics were either incarcerated in Bedlam, lobotomised or in some cases (if male); castrated. In the "old days".

Further back people were burnt at the stake because it was believed that their illnesses were demonic possession.

Inhumane treatment is inhumane treatment and should be called out as such without bringing the nonensical pc epithet into the argument.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Another Japanese cover up?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

I knew this man personally as he lived near me. He was happy and loved his students. It had been his dream to come to Japan for ages. Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldnt carry out your dreams. He thought it'd be okay if he stopped taking his meds and when they didnt, he was courageous enough to seek help out. It was the bad Japanese health care that did this. He wasn't dangerous or violent.

Thank you. We are becoming a knee jerk society with the MSM and social media.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Japanese mental health workers are not doctors. They are scientists that test the latest chemicals and the patients are the guinea pigs. The medieval and barbaric ways never change in Japan because the people are taught to believe that a "doctor" is the next thing to God and should never be questioned. Just like leaving a dog in a hot car...We all know the result.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Here is some information on the ugly truth of the state of mental care in Japan:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2012/11/25/books/book-reviews/shedding-light-on-problems-with-japans-psychiatric-care/

This article is somewhat old but little seems to have changed, considering the parties involved:

http://www.economist.com/node/876845

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I am grateful to read from the NZ article that the family are not taking the Korean or US approach of "sue them for millions" but I don't like how they respresent what happened as "tying him to the bed". I suspect they did not use ropes and he was not being choked by them. Putting no compression stockings is the right thing to do.

However, I reject the framing of the article with the "dying in this kind of outrageous circumstances that would never happen in New Zealand should be an embarrassment to Japan."

I note that the victim was "admitted to Yamato Hospital under a compulsory order", that generally means his behavior had gotten so bad that the emergency services had to be involved and he was taken against his will, hence the use of restraints.

In the old days they might of used padded cells and straightjackets but the politically correct got rid of them too.

Putting aside all the cases you see on the street, I've known 3 or 4 people with such serious mental illnesses, all otherwise intelligent, attractive individuals (I guess that's just how I like my women; intelligent, attractive, crazy ...). The frightening thing is how quickly and easily they would flip in and out of rationality, and how tireless or physical they would become when flipped out. How well they could mask their symptoms, and the extent of paranoid delusions, such as the Satan story above.

The brother said, ""He [did] need to be in a hospital - I was glad he was in a hospital - but he didn't need to be restrained to the bed in my opinion."

In the old days they might of used padded cells and straightjackets but the politically correct got rid of them too.

I'm not medical but "Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy" seems to be drug related, e.g. over prescribed drugs, which is also common in Japan health service ("megadose culture in psychiatric care”)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Whatever happened here there's no excuse for not releasing the records to the family and there has to be some institutional oversight. So much is hidden in Japan and that's a danger in itself. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I've heard the patient/family usually goes public not because of the medical mistake, but because of poor communication or lack of sincerity. Maybe Japanese psychiatry staffs are not used to assertive patients/families, but they ought to know how to deal with tragedies when they're working in medical fields.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

@Speed

I wonder if he wasn't allowed to take his medications.

I have not read the Kyodo article this one is meant to come from, but in other international copies, it is clearly stated he chose to come off his medications himself. Given the propensities of this the media to post articles that make the whole of Japan look bad every time someting unfortunate happens, it would have been more fair to include the details here.

@dcog9065

Um, what? A mentally ill man was allowed to come here and teach children..? How many other English teachers currently in Japan also fall under this same category through this so called program and have mental health problems? This scandal will be bad for English teachers I think

I have to admit I had the same thoughts myself. It confirmed a common prejudice, perhaps an actual assumption, that a higher than representative proportion of foreigners coming to Japan have personality disorders and use their foreign-ness as a mask for them. And indeed find Japanese society easier to survive within, as this unfortunate did.

And, yes, I would accept every criticism of the often unaddressed mental health issues within Japanese society.

But why would someone with such a serious condition check into a hospital where he could not communicate easily and well with those treating him? I'd guess if he was all a "tall gaijin", as in big enough to cause a real problem if he was going crazy, it would not have helped him. A bit like those Africans who put up a fight when they are deported for being illegal immigrant, also in restraints.

Personally, I would have gotten on the first airplane home asap.

Likewise, did he disclose his illness to his employers in advance? And did he tell any of his family what he was doing? Again, if I was family, I'd have gotten on the first airplane to go and get him if he did. A stranger in a strange land, separated from his family and friends, experiencing a false sense of freedom and euphoria.

I hope some ambulance chasing lawyer is not prolonging the family's grief. At least the troubled young man got to live out his dream before he died.

The article makes the accusation on the basis of "in defiance of international healthcare norms".

And yet, a brief search comes up with "**nearly 40,000 incidents of physical restraint on mentalhealth patients in England per year" ... with 'face down' restraint used over 3,000 times ... resulting in at least 949 injuries ... and 13 deaths (2012).**

Therefore, I question what the "international healthcare norms" are, and how widely it is practised.

I know a lot of salarymen, and first time mothers, who would kill for 10 days in bed.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

It seems it is an issue Japanese hospitals are aware of and have procedures for;

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033318213000637

But would they have sufficient knowledge of how to gear up treatments for someone with significantly more body mass than the average Japanese patient, I don't know. Usually the criticism of Japanese hospitals is that they use too much drugs or too many treatments.

I have to say, however nice an individual he was, I'm uncomfortable at the idea of individuals with serious mental health issues being allow to teach at elementary or even high schools.

If he did not disclose his illness in advance, and his family allowed him to do so - in essence entered Japan fraudulently - he will or should have prejudiced his own case against himself.

I'd be asking the government to include some kind of mental health screening/compliancy in all future JETs. At the very least demanding all canditates disclose their conditions ... but I imagine that would cause a ruckus of "discrimination" accusations.

I'd appreciating hearing more from the individual who actually knew him.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Except that it has not been proven to be inhuman nor even that the restraints or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) to be the cause yet ... can we go along with the "innocent until proven guilty" line?

People here seem to imagine he was being choked to death.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) sometimes occurs for no apparent reason. Primarily, it's the inactivity that causes it, not the restraints.

Kelly had previously been hospitalised in New Zealand. In April he had "begun acting paranoid, lashing out and behaving in increasingly bizarre and concerning ways". His brother organised for Kelly to go into medical care. Cardiological medical records have been released.

As balance, from April of this year, the report paints shocking picture of ‘medieval’ NZ restraint practices

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/04/26/20697/report-paints-shocking-picture-of-restraint-practices

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

This discussion needs to have any nationalistic element removed from it.

Look at the figures for Maoris in the NZ mental health care system. It's similar to but not as exaggerate as Blacks in the US and the total number of deaths is around 1500 per year. Causes point to the similar "misuse of antipsychotic medications, having adverse metabolic and cardiac effects". A recent international review finding that "monitoring of the side effects of psychiatric drugs tends to be inadequate".

Using comparable statistics for the number of deaths in psychiatric hospitals Japan and NZ, adjusted proporationally for population, it would equate to 25,000 deaths per year in Japan, versus 38,000 deaths per year in NZ.

Therefore, statistically, he had better chances in Japan.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Mental illness is a terrible thing that goes undiagnosed in so many people, especially in Japan.

Really! Well maybe when one of your close friends starts telling you that Satan is watching him from his bedroom window, you will better understand mental illness and use it accordingly.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Deep vein thrombosis? Gimme a break. Doctors In Japan OVER MEDICATING! Now that is believable.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

The New Zealand family have a case to answer themselves by allowing their bi-polar/schizophrenic relative travel to Japan in the first place. Yeah it's not in the article what mental problem he had but let's call a spade a spade.

-7 ( +8 / -15 )

@Mlodinow

He was strapped down tight for 10 days for crying out loud.

We don't know that. Do the family speak Japanese sufficiently to read medical reports or even interact with the staff?

Unfortunately, if they weighed in with legal threats, that's the kind of official response to expect. It may just be as simple as the brother not have full authority or the right forms not being signed.

The bigger problem is how it dealt with. If they or their lawyers go stomping around, it'll end up becoming a big issue, that will end up in bad laws being made, that will end up with medical screening of all ALTs and JETs ... which more people will complain about.

Now, a lot of people might agree in closing the door to ALTs and JETs with mentally illness, others with more minor conditions or who are more responsible taking their medications might be hurt by it.

Which way do you want it to swing?

Just because you have a mental illness doesn't mean you shouldnt carry out your dreams.

On the other hand, it's a bit selfish if "carrying out your dreams" leads to others having to carry the burdens of the consequents.

I understand the family will be sad and looking to blame someone but it won't help their loss or pain (unless, of course, they just want the money).

He knew and took the risk, they must have known about. They have to accept the consequences ... and not screw things up for others. Unfortunately, "ambulance chasing" lawyers don't give a damn about the bigger picture and tend to make things worse for everyone.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

My opinion , the 27 year old kid was not an experience traveler outside his own environment, went into early culture shock , people around him were talking a gobble-de-gook language anyway , forgets to self medicate himself and goes off the rails. Hospital staff clueless have not diagnosed a treatment for the foreigner and are left with the only solution available to them . Unprofessional me would reach for the nearest bottle of sweet dream sleep serum and inject him with it .

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

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