My brother John was born in 1958.  He started exhibiting signs that something was not right with him when he was about 13/14 yrs old . He was withdrawing . He would wear a coat even in the summertime.  He started acting out and showing anger also . He made it to high school .  My parents joined a group and we went to family and individual counseling to find out what was wrong with my brother John.  Psychiatrists were brought into and he at first was diagnosed as just being defiant against authority.

In school he was walking out of class . He had been placed in the special ed program.  He continued to walk out of class . I asked him why and he said why should he learn something he already knew . You see when he was a little boy about 6 yrs old, He already knew his alphabet and numbers.  He could spell and read . He could add, subtract and do multiplication .He was very smart .  He probably had a genius IQ. He was eventually diagnosed as chronic schizophrenic.  He went through the different phases of the illness .   He was paranoid.  He would think we were trying to poison him . He thought people were trying to kill him .He also went through a phase where he wouldn’t have his hair cut or shave.  He wouldn’t take showers or change his clothes . He would stay up all night and sleep all day. He would threaten to kill us with knives . My mom had to hide all the knives. He threatened to rape me.  I had to threaten him back and he left me alone . He threatened to kill my mom and she got away . He sliced up the wall throughout the house . My dad subdued him and police put him in jail . He was eventually placed in the state hospital . He was there a few times . He also at one time had electric shock treatment . His memory was affected.  He’d walk around all the time.  He talked and laughed to himself a lot.  He also would her angry.  He had auditory and visual hallucinations every day from age 14 the 44 when he died .Psychs told my parents He would commit suicide by age 18 . He died in his sleep at age 44 .My mom tried her best to take care of him . We all did . He had so much promise .  He was a great basketball and football player . He loved genealogy and astronomy. He had a telescope to watch the moon and stars . He read the sports page every day and could tell you anything about sports . He had a photographic memory .He liked lifting weights and wrote all his workouts each day .He also had a nice singing voice . He loved the song “Please don’t squeeze my Charmin.“  He loved buying ice cream for the neighborhood kids and his only niece, my daughter.  He was her protector from the mean kids on the block .He had a heart of gold . as my dad said be me was a good soul .Rest in peace John .I love you .Your sister, Kathy