“People are actually suffering from this, and I think people need to know about it,” Levy said.
HUGO, Minn. — Playing catch and complaining about his sister are some of Levi’s favorite things to do for his mother, Sarah Olson.
“It’s hard being a kid with a condition like him,” Sarah said. “The younger you are, the harder it is.”
Levi, 11, was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine.
“I remember him coming back from spinal surgery unable to move and in excruciating pain, yet still making the doctors and nurses laugh,” Sarah says. “He always did.”
But this fall, she witnessed a shift in Levi’s psyche.
“I started to feel bad about the whole thing,” Levy said. “I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
The doctor instructed Sarah to take Levi to Children’s Minnesota Hospital for further treatment.
His mother was worried about getting her son the help he needed, but deep down she worried about how health care workers perceived her.
“Would they see me as a failure?” Sarah asked. “Like I was hurting him, or that there was something missing. That was the exact opposite of what we experienced in pediatrics.”
Jessica Brisbois, manager of acute mental health services at Children’s Hospital, said she’s seen a 30% increase in the number of kids coming into the emergency room with mental illnesses during the pandemic.
“The numbers have been steadily increasing every year since the pandemic,” Brisbois said.
Brisbois said children have suffered from isolation during the pandemic.
For Levi, the physical pain began to affect him mentally.
“They looked at Levi and just said, ‘We believe in you,'” Olson said. “We believe this is hard. And they took me into a room, talked to me for a little while, and said, ‘You’re not failing.’
Her son underwent a week of inpatient treatment that included visits with a child psychiatrist, a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, a child life therapist, and a music and art therapist. As his condition began to improve, he continued in a daytime partial hospitalization program aimed at improving his symptoms and teaching him coping skills.
“We have to be very creative when it comes to mental health treatment for children,” Brisbois said. “Most kids need more than just sitting down and talking about their feelings. We have to find creative ways to engage them in treatment, like art therapy or music therapy.”
Levi says he’s feeling much better, and although he admits he still has difficult days, he says knowing other people are struggling helps him.
“When I was going through that, I felt like no one understood me,” he said, “so I just wanted to let you know that I felt that too, and that you’re not alone.”
He says it’s important for kids to know that, so they can feel like kids again.
Children’s Minnesota encourages people to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if their child is experiencing a mental health emergency or is at risk of imminent harm and receive a mental health evaluation.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, here are some resources you can get help with:
Crisis Text Line – Text “MN” to 741741 (standard data and text rates apply)
Minnesota emergency numbers
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988, talk to someone now
Call **CRISIS** (**274747) throughout Minnesota
Trevor Project 866-488-7386
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