A terrified mother has said she doesn't want her suicidal teenage daughter to be discharged from hospital because she fears she will die.
The desperate mum was told yesterday by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co Louth that her daughter was ready to go home.
But she believes her daughter needs further help and went public pleading for a psychiatric bed for her daughter.
In a harrowing and heartbreaking interview on her local radio station LMFM, the woman told how the little girl had tried to kill herself several times over the last two years.
It all started when someone told her she was fat and then the teenager stopped eating, losing weight and self-harming.
The mum said: “She doesn’t want to live, she begged me to let her die. But I don’t want my girl to die. I don’t want to bury her. I know if I bring her home I will be burying her.
The woman said that her daughter was admitted to hospital last weekend but then left on Monday.
“I was terrified I would end up like Sinead O'Connor.
“We were told she was in Drogheda. She was posting selfies of herself on her mobile phone down by the river.
“I begged the gardai to help me find her because I don’t want her to die. We ran around Drogheda looking for her, myself and five Garda squad cars, and all I kept thinking was we are going to end up like Sinead O'Connor.
“We eventually found her and she was taken back into the Lourdes.
“When the gardai searched her they found she had a broken bottle hidden in her clothes.
“She keeps telling me that she doesn’t want to live and to let her go. I don’t want to let my girl go."
The woman sobbed uncontrollably as she told the Michael Reade Show she had tried to get her daugher full professional help but it hasn’t worked.
She sees a CAMHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service - counsellor once a week.
She said that she needs a bed in a psychiatric hospital as quickly as possible, but there aren't any.
The mother told how there are children suffering just like her daughter from severe mental illness all over Ireland and nothing is being done about it.
Countless families in a similar situation had been in touch with her via Facebook.
She said: “I am just begging someone to help her. I am not ready to let her go.
"This is not a blame game, I don’t blame the Lourdes Hospital - in fact they saved her life on a number of occasions and she has spent five months there in the last two years.
“It is very hard dealing with a child who has mental health issues. She can’t see any way out, only the end.
“The whole situation for us as a family is a nightmare.
The woman said she had another, younger child who was constantly watching their older sister trying to self harm and take her own life.
“It is a nightmare for everyone involved. She is a ticking timebomb and I just want to put my arms around my child and take the pain away. I can’t eat and I can’t sleep.
“There are a lot of children with mental health issues out there and no help for them.
“The Lourdes said she is ready to go home but I will not bring her home.
"She is going to kill herself. I will do everything to stop her. I want help to keep my girl alive."
The HSE said it can’t comment on any individual case but is liaising with the family involved.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article please contact:
Samaritans helpline 116 123
Aware helpline 1800 80 48 48
Pieta House on 1800 247 247
