Mother of teen who tried taking her life wants people to know 'there's not always signs'
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Applause filled the center of a hospital atrium as a teenage girl, her expression hiding under a mask, walked swiftly between a line of clapping doctors, nurses, chaplains and staff.
Four years had passed since she had first come in, clinging to life. Now she searched for faces she recognized. Finally one of them, Marsha Hampton, who used to wake her up in the morning, broke the ice with a hug.
"You look….amazing," she said, pulling back from the girl to take it in. "Let me hug you one more time," she exclaimed, instantly drawing laughs.
Medical staff said it was special to see a survivor, so far removed from a day they planned on not surviving.
Payton Singh was just a few days shy of her 13th birthday when paramedics rushed her to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. She had celebrated with friends and family just a few days earlier. Then without warning, home one morning with her brother while her parents were at work, she tried to end her life.
"That's one thing I wish more people understood about suicide, there's not always signs," said Brandy Lumbert, her mother. "Whether it's a kid or adult they're not walking around with flashing neon lights above their heads."
New data shows a surge in teen suicides during the first year of the pandemic may be starting to ease, although it's still happening more often than before 2020.
From January through June last year, Cook Children's Medical Center saw 220 patients following attempts to end their life. During the same months in 2022, that total fell to 159.
Public reports from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner show 10 children across the four counties the office covers have died from suicide this year. There were 19 last year, including a child who was 10-years-old.
The availability of mental health treatment for children continues to be underfunded, according to Dr. Kristen Pyrc, a psychiatrist at Cook Children's.
"If you talk to any parent who has tried to get their kids into counseling, they will say 'I called these six places,' and they just can't get a call back," she said.
Last month, JPS Health Network announced it's actively recruiting candidates for a new fellowship program to train psychiatrists who want to specialize in treating young people. Shortages across the region are expected to persist though for the next decade.
It's not unusual though for there to be no advance warnings, Pyrc said, like in Payton's case. Younger children especially, can make impulsive decisions. It underscores the importance of having open conversations early with kids, so they are comfortable coming to a parent later with any sort of problem.
After being unsure she would live, Payton has completed years of physical therapy, working to overcome the damage of going as long as 12 minutes without oxygen. She plans to graduate high school in the spring, and become a livestock veterinarian technician.
She nodded when asked if there are others her age who she knows are silently struggling like she was.
How many?
"Quite a bit."
Next week is National Suicide Prevention Week. If you or someone you know may need help, you can find resources here, 24 hours a day.