We’ve all heard about the recent story about the Baltimore shooter who goes into John Hopkins and shoots the doctor, him mother and finally himself. Another prime example of caregiver stress.
For those of you who don’t watch or listen to the news I offer the story below.
September 16, 2010 – BALTIMORE (AP) — A man who became distraught as he was being briefed on his mother’s condition by a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital pulled a gun and shot the doctor Thursday, then killed his mother and himself in her room at the world-famous medical center, police said.The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, was expected to survive. The gunman, 50-year-old Paul Warren Pardus, had been listening to the surgeon around midday when he “became emotionally distraught and reacted … and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother’s condition,” Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said.
Pardus then holed up in the room in a more than two-hour standoff that led authorities to lock down a small section of the Nelson Building while allowing the rest of the sprawling red-brick medical complex — a cluster of hospital, research and education buildings — to remain open.
When officers made their way to the room, they found Pardus and his mother shot to death, he on the floor, she in her bed.
Post by John Monds in DC on Sep 16, 2010 at 5:44 pm -A man distraught about his mother’s health shot and wounded a doctor at Baltimore’s prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital on Thursday before killing his mother and taking his own life, police said. The gunman was getting an update on his mother’s medical condition “when he became emotionally distraught” and pulled a pistol out of his waistband, Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld said. He shot the doctor, then retreated to his mother’s room, Bealefeld told reporters.
There is evidence that the quality of care given to an older person is affected by the existence of caregiver depression, anxiety, and resentment. What is not clearly understood, however, is the specific relationship between caregiver anger and anxiety, depression, and resentment. Given the important effect resentment has on depression in caregivers, examining the relationship between anger and depression, resentment, and anxiety is warranted and must be adheared to. (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/716140 Caregiver Mental Health and Potentially Harmful Caregiving Behavior)
Caregivers, take action if you are feeling any of these symptoms: anger, depression, anxiety and or resentment. Know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and that there is help for you.
Resources:
http://www.caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=1013 Caregiver Mental Health Concerns
http://www.aginginfousa.com/ Caregiving Resources
TheWorkingCaregiver 