Glen Tyson Alexander
February 17, 1987 ~ July 2, 2010
Glen always said, He didn’t have a purpose in life. He did. He does.
Glen was born in Whittier, CA on February 17, 1987. He was the youngest of six children (2 brothers and 3 sisters). He wanted to be born feet first, but instead they did an emergency c-section. He was the third one of my children to be diagnosed as extremely ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and was started on medication in second grade. By eighth grade he didn’t want to take meds anymore. He told me, “I know they make me behave better, but I don’t like the way they make me feel”. He always dealt with anxiety and depression and was diagnosed bipolar as a young adult.
Whatever his problems were, they didn’t keep his family and friends from loving him. He had a unforgettable smile, a very funny sense of humor, and a way of living life to the fullest. He had his own words for things and we called them “Glenism’s”. He was soft spoken and a good listener. Glen loved kids and they loved him, especially his nieces and nephews. Glen also loved animals, especially dogs and reptiles (snakes being his favorite reptile). When he died he left a big fish tank, with colorful fish, big rocks, and a castle in it. Glen had compassion and a unique understanding of others and what they were going through. Many of his friends miss hanging out with Glen and having those conversations they shared about life. They also miss his way of thinking up crazy things to do to have fun.
Glen was all boy and loved the outdoors. He met most of friends doing guy things; skateboarding, bicycling, dirt bike riding, riding go-peds, snowboarding, rock climbing, hiking, fishing, hunting, target shooting, and so on. When he got older he added motorcycles and a truck to his collection of toys with wheels. He didn’t like big get together’s or going to parties Hugh crowds overwhelmed him.
Glen lost his grandfather in ’96, whom he was very close to. In ’98 Glen’s father passed away from lung cancer. Glen was only 11. Both these deaths were very hard for Glen. He really missed having that male figure in his life. Glen had a natural gift when it came to mechanical skills. He just instinctively knew how to repair things without any formal training. The garage was one of Glen’s favorite places to hang out with his friends. Often they would bring over their various motorized toys to have Glen work on them.
Glen had his second motorcycle accident on February 25, 2008. He almost lost his right leg and was hospitalized for a month. During that time he had five surgeries and was on the strongest of pain medications. Up until then, the only drug Glen had done was to smoke marijuana. He was very anti anything else and the marijuana helped him with his anxiety. Glen was released from Riverside County Regional Medical Center on March 25, 2008 and given several prescriptions upon discharge. Oxycodone was prescribed for his pain. After several follow up visits, the doctors abruptly release Glen from any follow up care. Glen’s right foot was still very swollen and he was still in constant pain. I questioned the doctors about possible physical therapy and they said, they did all they could do and it was going to be a wait and see situation. I should have been more concerned with making sure Glen was weaned off the pain medication and able to function without it. It seems crazy to me now that doctor’s don’t follow up with a detox period, or at least a ongoing supervised drug
treatment.
Tomorrow Will be Part II of the Story