Mental illness has long carried a stigma in society. In 2015, Olympia resident Jenny Heddin found herself face to face with the consequences of that.
The year started off great for Jenny. She had just gotten married to the love of her life. Matt Heddin was a wetlands biologist, a nature lover, and a caring partner. In early 2015, Matt and Jenny had a baby on the way.
But a few months into their marriage and pregnancy, seemingly overnight, Matt became ill. He didn’t sleep for days. Then Matt became increasingly paranoid and delusional. Jenny struggled to navigate the mental health system in order to get him care. In Pierce County, she discovered it was a two- to three-month wait to see a psychiatrist. Their only choice was to wait hours in the emergency room to get him into treatment.
"We as a society make a judgment call ... We're willing to write people off that have mental health issues," she said.
In the midst of this chaos, Heddin went into labor seven weeks early. A week after the birth of their son, Matt Heddin committed suicide. Sound Effect's Gabriel Spitzer talks with Jenny Heddin about the challenges she and her husband faced to get him help. She also explains how her family's tragedy has inspired her to become an advocate for better mental health care in Washington state.
