The article (Jan.6) written on “Air Buddy” was great. It is encouraging to read a story about a boy and his dog, both beating the odds.

As the boy’s mother, I have to say there has been a greater struggle to overcome. It has been that of trying to get the help my son has needed through a system that responds to crisis by reaction rather than prevention.

Not long ago, the Sun Journal did a story on this very issue. We are dealing with the ever-misunderstood mental illness of bipolar and other mood disorders. Because they manifest themselves behaviorally, these disabilities are often disputed by the general public as being legitimate. People assume these children are in treatment because of parental negligence. These assumptions do not occur when families seek help for any other illness their child has.

The mental health system has come a long way in diagnosis and recognition of these disorders, but needs to approve treatment in earlier stages. Parents are still turning their own children over to the state in order to get the help their kids need, even if it means facing complaints against them. They cry out for help and when they don’t receive it, they are often the ones blamed when something goes wrong. The system still needs work.

Zane and Buddy are determined to win against the odds, and so am I.

Gina Mitchell, Fayette

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