Abby Flynn This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. 2004- 2005 NAMI Indiana Board of

   www.namiindiana.org/2004_2005_ - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/1/2004   Last Visited: 11/9/2005

   Abby Flynn, Member-at-Large Indiana Brain Tissue Donation 260-432-3311 Fort Wayne, IN abbyflynn@skyenet.net Term ends: 2006

2. 2. News Sentinel | 09/29/2003 | Abby Flynn's experience has made her a ... Voice for the mentally ill

   www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssent - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/29/2003   Last Visited: 9/29/2003

   Abby Flynn's experience has made her a ... Voice for the mentally ill
   ...
   Abby Flynn's experience has made her a ... Voice for the mentally ill Her son, who paints and writes books, was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia.
   ...
   Abby Flynn's interest and advocacy for people with mental illness began more than 20 years ago with a handsome, dark-haired youngster named Bill.
   ...
   "I knew from early on there was something different about him," Flynn said of son Bill Seeger, the middle of her three children.
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   It was then that "he destroyed every piece of furniture in his room, every piece," Flynn recalled. He frequently took off during the night. He showed a variety of inappropriate social behaviors.
   ...
   The judge said, 'Do you expect Bill to get better and return to society?' I said, 'No, I do not, but if he does, that will be a bonus to our lives.' " The judge thanked Flynn for her frank, yet open perspective.
   
   Flynn has worked through many avenues to bring awareness and understanding of people with mental illness. She has been a board member of NAMI Fort Wayne, an affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, served on the state's Olmstead Planning Commission, the Mental Illness Advisory Council for Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services and is currently chairwoman of the Public Policy Committee of the Mental Association of Indiana, as well as other state and local boards and committees.
   ...
   It's very plausible that you know someone with mental illness," Flynn tells others.
   
   Flynn, 75, is often asked if she has read the book or seen the movie, "A Beautiful Mind," about former Princeton University math professor and Nobel Laureate John Nash.
   
   "No, I haven't," she said. "I've lived it."
   
   At this point, the medications Bill takes have somewhat decreased his paranoia and enabled him to be be more social. "But his delusions and hallucinations have taken over his life," she said.
   
   Nevertheless, Flynn is not without hope - if not for Bill, then for others who are diagnosed with mental illness now.
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   In just the last year, we know if there's a variation in any one of these five, there's the potential for schizophrenia," and that's after identifying only the first 300 to 400 of the 5,000 brain genes, Flynn said.