Calvins Hope for a Better Life
Donation protected
FROM A MOTHER. I NEED YOUR HELP!
Will you please help me raise $68,000 by May 11 to send my son to a residential treatment center that could possibly be the thing that saves his life?
I have one child - his name is Calvin Benson Ross. He is 24 years old.
He has been the center of my universe since the day he was born, June 18, 1995. Calvin is a very special soul. He has always been special. Smart, kind, loving, sweet, compassionate, athletic - the kind of kid who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He is a true friend, no matter what, loyal to the bone. And for those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Calvin, you may have experienced this personally with him.
Calvin has suffered tremendously after having a total psychotic breakdown, in March of 2018. I will never forget that phone-call I received from New York early in the morning, alerting me that Calvin was in the psych ward. My baby.
Since the initial breakdown, Calvin has been in and out of hospitals, with a litany of different diagnoses and he has taken a plethora of anti-psych, mood stabilizing and mind altering medications. It has been triage, at its worst - not to mention the trauma!
This rollercoaster ride through the mental health system is not working. We have tried. Calvin has tried. He spent all of last summer in hospitals in Virginia, completely out of his mind. He spent the past 5 months in hospitals and treatment centers in California. I am so proud of Calvin for his strength through his struggles. Calvin’s caretakers have loved him. He has participated in his groups. He contributes to his communities. He wants to be well. But the system is not working, for him.
I am so grateful for the medications and the doctors who have helped Calvin, like the time I arrived in Virginia to find Calvin on the floor in a state of complete catatonia. Ativan in that case was literally a life saver. I know that medications have worked successfully for many, allowing them to lead a functional life, and I respect the doctors and those who are successfully using them to treat patients. Medication may be a permanent part of Calvin’s solution moving forward, but that has yet to be determined.
It has literally been a living nightmare. Seeing your child suffer the way he has, and feeling helpless to do anything about it has ripped my heart out over and over and over again. There were moments of lucidity amidst the psychosis. You hold onto those moments with hope, like you can actually “see him” in there again, until the other shoe falls and the psychosis rears its ugly horns again. There were times when I felt afraid, for my own safety and most certainly for his. This is so hard to admit. Trying to protect Calvin from the world, I kept a lot of this close to my chest.
It is time to do things differently, and to ask for HELP. I call it divinity that we have found a center that addresses psychiatric medicine from a different perspective. It is called The Alternative to Meds Center. The Alternative to Meds Center is a state licensed certified program in Sedona, Arizona.
I have a friend whose son went through their program more than 10 years ago. He too was in and out of psych hospitals just like Calvin, and on the verge of being institutionalized. He is happy, healthy and is a respected speaker with the National Speaker’s Bureau in the United States, to this day. This gives us hope. ATMC has successfully helped thousands of individuals with psychosis recover to full health. ATMC uses the very best of the medical, psychotherapeutic and holistic worlds to provide one of the most complete integrative and transformative program offered in the country.
The Alternative to Meds Center says, “We believe that by and large, people are over-medicated and assigned a mental diagnosis that conveys a belief that something is permanently wrong with them. To our mind, there is a lot more involved in mental health and addiction treatment.”
Please read more about the program here:
- https://www.alternativetomeds.com/ -
ATMC has an over 75% success rate in helping people with psychiatric health issues recover from their symptoms.
https://www.alternativetomeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ATMC_OutcomeStudy2018.pdf
The center has a staff of more than 30 professionals. They have psychiatrists, doctors, naturopaths, nurses, acupuncturists, therapists, nutritionists, and more. They use lab testing to monitor each individual and then use a combination of therapies to help rebalance the brain and restore health.
Thanks to our relationship with someone who has been through the program, we were introduced to the owner and the various admissions and clinical directors at ATMC. Nothing has felt right, until now.
Calvin has already been accepted into the program. He has spoken with the admissions director, the director of nursing, the clinical director, as well as the founder, Lyle Murphy. Since discovering the program, and realizing there is hope, Calvin has been engaged and inspired - full of hope and clarity and purpose.
The ATMC offers a 2 month program, with the option of a paid internship to continue to receive aftercare for 3 months after the initial 2 months. Calvin is very hopeful to fully embrace all that the program offers. If all goes well, Calvin will celebrate his 25th birthday in Sedona, Arizona.
Due to the global pandemic, this is an optimal time for Calvin to start this program. ATMC has beds to help 15 people. Because of CoVid19, they only have 5 people in treatment at the moment. If we can get him there soon, Calvin can start his treatment while the world is healing from CoVid.
We need your help to get him there.
We need to raise funds in order to send him to ATMC. I truly believe that this is a solution that can save Calvin’s life. While they do accept insurance, they do not accept Calvin’s insurance. We have applied for a scholarship, but they do expect to be paid in full by the start of the program.
I am humbly asking for help.
I realize not everyone is in the place to help financially. Prayers are welcome! If you can contribute $1, I know we can make it to our goal. As soon as we raise the money needed, we will drive to Sedona and begin the journey to save a life. They encourage family to stay for his first week of transition, and fortunately we have friends in Sedona who have offered a room in their house to stay during this transition time, which is such a blessing. We are ready to roll, as soon as we can raise the money. THE SOONER THE BETTER! Our goal is to raise the money by May 11th. If you can, will you please help us raise the money in 7 days to reach our goal. I believe we can do it.
Please feel free to share with anyone you think might be able to help.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My gratitude is infinite.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for your care, to help in any way you can.
We will keep you posted on his progress.
With deep gratitude,
Heidi Henkle
From Calvin:
2 years ago March 15th I spent a night alone, naked in the snow in a forest outside of New York City. In a full-fledged bout of psychosis I convinced myself I was in mortal danger and I fled to be with ‘Mother Earth’, stripping off my clothes in the process. Almost losing my toes, I landed myself in a psych ward for the first time. Since then at a rate of once every two months I’ve landed myself in a hospital bed and been put on a new menagerie of medications. My reigning diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder which is a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. No matter the diagnosis, no matter the combination of meds, there is one thing that hasn’t failed me since March 15th, 2018 – ending up back in a hospital bed, my reality out of sync with everybody else’s, seeing and hearing things that aren’t there and pressed to maintain equilibrium through manic and psychotic episodes. The constant battles with mania and psychosis over the past two years have taken a heavy toll on me psychologically. I am a fighter by nature and won’t ever give up my hope of once again leading an ordinary life free from the oppression of psychosis and mania but in this fight I am in a fight with an invisible enemy, and I need help. Help beyond the prevailing anti-psychotic medication dominant treatments in the mental health system. In my search for an out from this vicious cycle of mania and psychosis, I have found the Alternative to Meds Center in Sedona, Arizona. A two-month program with 24-hour care and psychiatrists and nurses on staff, Alternative to Meds Center believes there is a physiological reason for mental health disorders and through neurochemical rehabilitation and detoxification processes treats the root cause of mental health disorders, healing the body and mind. This program costs $68,000 and neither myself nor my family alone has the money to pay for this potentially life-changing treatment. What I am asking for is help. I am hoping to raise $68,000 to put myself through treatment, and donations of every size will make the difference. Every dollar adds up to reach the sum. I have a hope of being of service in this world, somehow participating in providing humankind with the tools necessary to live in harmony with our environment as opposed to in opposition with or in domination of. The only way I have a prayer of fulfilling this hope is to stop this vicious cycle of psychosis and mania I’ve been in over the past two years. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution to this end and am forever indebted to each and every one of you for your support. To health and happiness, Calvin Benson Ross.
Will you please help me raise $68,000 by May 11 to send my son to a residential treatment center that could possibly be the thing that saves his life?
I have one child - his name is Calvin Benson Ross. He is 24 years old.
He has been the center of my universe since the day he was born, June 18, 1995. Calvin is a very special soul. He has always been special. Smart, kind, loving, sweet, compassionate, athletic - the kind of kid who would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He is a true friend, no matter what, loyal to the bone. And for those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Calvin, you may have experienced this personally with him.
Calvin has suffered tremendously after having a total psychotic breakdown, in March of 2018. I will never forget that phone-call I received from New York early in the morning, alerting me that Calvin was in the psych ward. My baby.
Since the initial breakdown, Calvin has been in and out of hospitals, with a litany of different diagnoses and he has taken a plethora of anti-psych, mood stabilizing and mind altering medications. It has been triage, at its worst - not to mention the trauma!
This rollercoaster ride through the mental health system is not working. We have tried. Calvin has tried. He spent all of last summer in hospitals in Virginia, completely out of his mind. He spent the past 5 months in hospitals and treatment centers in California. I am so proud of Calvin for his strength through his struggles. Calvin’s caretakers have loved him. He has participated in his groups. He contributes to his communities. He wants to be well. But the system is not working, for him.
I am so grateful for the medications and the doctors who have helped Calvin, like the time I arrived in Virginia to find Calvin on the floor in a state of complete catatonia. Ativan in that case was literally a life saver. I know that medications have worked successfully for many, allowing them to lead a functional life, and I respect the doctors and those who are successfully using them to treat patients. Medication may be a permanent part of Calvin’s solution moving forward, but that has yet to be determined.
It has literally been a living nightmare. Seeing your child suffer the way he has, and feeling helpless to do anything about it has ripped my heart out over and over and over again. There were moments of lucidity amidst the psychosis. You hold onto those moments with hope, like you can actually “see him” in there again, until the other shoe falls and the psychosis rears its ugly horns again. There were times when I felt afraid, for my own safety and most certainly for his. This is so hard to admit. Trying to protect Calvin from the world, I kept a lot of this close to my chest.
It is time to do things differently, and to ask for HELP. I call it divinity that we have found a center that addresses psychiatric medicine from a different perspective. It is called The Alternative to Meds Center. The Alternative to Meds Center is a state licensed certified program in Sedona, Arizona.
I have a friend whose son went through their program more than 10 years ago. He too was in and out of psych hospitals just like Calvin, and on the verge of being institutionalized. He is happy, healthy and is a respected speaker with the National Speaker’s Bureau in the United States, to this day. This gives us hope. ATMC has successfully helped thousands of individuals with psychosis recover to full health. ATMC uses the very best of the medical, psychotherapeutic and holistic worlds to provide one of the most complete integrative and transformative program offered in the country.
The Alternative to Meds Center says, “We believe that by and large, people are over-medicated and assigned a mental diagnosis that conveys a belief that something is permanently wrong with them. To our mind, there is a lot more involved in mental health and addiction treatment.”
Please read more about the program here:
- https://www.alternativetomeds.com/ -
ATMC has an over 75% success rate in helping people with psychiatric health issues recover from their symptoms.
https://www.alternativetomeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/ATMC_OutcomeStudy2018.pdf
The center has a staff of more than 30 professionals. They have psychiatrists, doctors, naturopaths, nurses, acupuncturists, therapists, nutritionists, and more. They use lab testing to monitor each individual and then use a combination of therapies to help rebalance the brain and restore health.
Thanks to our relationship with someone who has been through the program, we were introduced to the owner and the various admissions and clinical directors at ATMC. Nothing has felt right, until now.
Calvin has already been accepted into the program. He has spoken with the admissions director, the director of nursing, the clinical director, as well as the founder, Lyle Murphy. Since discovering the program, and realizing there is hope, Calvin has been engaged and inspired - full of hope and clarity and purpose.
The ATMC offers a 2 month program, with the option of a paid internship to continue to receive aftercare for 3 months after the initial 2 months. Calvin is very hopeful to fully embrace all that the program offers. If all goes well, Calvin will celebrate his 25th birthday in Sedona, Arizona.
Due to the global pandemic, this is an optimal time for Calvin to start this program. ATMC has beds to help 15 people. Because of CoVid19, they only have 5 people in treatment at the moment. If we can get him there soon, Calvin can start his treatment while the world is healing from CoVid.
We need your help to get him there.
We need to raise funds in order to send him to ATMC. I truly believe that this is a solution that can save Calvin’s life. While they do accept insurance, they do not accept Calvin’s insurance. We have applied for a scholarship, but they do expect to be paid in full by the start of the program.
I am humbly asking for help.
I realize not everyone is in the place to help financially. Prayers are welcome! If you can contribute $1, I know we can make it to our goal. As soon as we raise the money needed, we will drive to Sedona and begin the journey to save a life. They encourage family to stay for his first week of transition, and fortunately we have friends in Sedona who have offered a room in their house to stay during this transition time, which is such a blessing. We are ready to roll, as soon as we can raise the money. THE SOONER THE BETTER! Our goal is to raise the money by May 11th. If you can, will you please help us raise the money in 7 days to reach our goal. I believe we can do it.
Please feel free to share with anyone you think might be able to help.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My gratitude is infinite.
Thank you for taking the time to read and for your care, to help in any way you can.
We will keep you posted on his progress.
With deep gratitude,
Heidi Henkle
From Calvin:
2 years ago March 15th I spent a night alone, naked in the snow in a forest outside of New York City. In a full-fledged bout of psychosis I convinced myself I was in mortal danger and I fled to be with ‘Mother Earth’, stripping off my clothes in the process. Almost losing my toes, I landed myself in a psych ward for the first time. Since then at a rate of once every two months I’ve landed myself in a hospital bed and been put on a new menagerie of medications. My reigning diagnosis is schizoaffective disorder which is a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. No matter the diagnosis, no matter the combination of meds, there is one thing that hasn’t failed me since March 15th, 2018 – ending up back in a hospital bed, my reality out of sync with everybody else’s, seeing and hearing things that aren’t there and pressed to maintain equilibrium through manic and psychotic episodes. The constant battles with mania and psychosis over the past two years have taken a heavy toll on me psychologically. I am a fighter by nature and won’t ever give up my hope of once again leading an ordinary life free from the oppression of psychosis and mania but in this fight I am in a fight with an invisible enemy, and I need help. Help beyond the prevailing anti-psychotic medication dominant treatments in the mental health system. In my search for an out from this vicious cycle of mania and psychosis, I have found the Alternative to Meds Center in Sedona, Arizona. A two-month program with 24-hour care and psychiatrists and nurses on staff, Alternative to Meds Center believes there is a physiological reason for mental health disorders and through neurochemical rehabilitation and detoxification processes treats the root cause of mental health disorders, healing the body and mind. This program costs $68,000 and neither myself nor my family alone has the money to pay for this potentially life-changing treatment. What I am asking for is help. I am hoping to raise $68,000 to put myself through treatment, and donations of every size will make the difference. Every dollar adds up to reach the sum. I have a hope of being of service in this world, somehow participating in providing humankind with the tools necessary to live in harmony with our environment as opposed to in opposition with or in domination of. The only way I have a prayer of fulfilling this hope is to stop this vicious cycle of psychosis and mania I’ve been in over the past two years. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contribution to this end and am forever indebted to each and every one of you for your support. To health and happiness, Calvin Benson Ross.
Organizer
Heidi Henkle
Organizer
Santa Monica, CA