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Patient Stories
My son attempted suicide by slashing his wrist
Published Friday, February 1, 2019My son attempted suicide by slashing his wrist. He was taken to a Kaiser hospital, his wrist was sewn up, he was held for a few hours for observation, and released. When I asked the attending psychiatrist whether further observation wasn’t called for after a suicide attempt, he told me that “technically, this was not a suicide attempt, but a case of self-mutilation, so no further observation is necessary.” I told him, “It won’t matter to my son or to me what you call it, if the next time he ends up dead.” He didn’t reply.
Joe
Los Angeles