Our Lives
My brother had done something unthinkable. But I knew I’d stand by him…
Isat on the sofa with the controller for the Sega Mega Drive in my hands, and watched my on-screen avatar duck and dive to avoid being hit.
When I reached the end of the level, I turned to smile at player two — my brother Adam. ‘We did it!’ I said. I was four years older than Adam. But we shared a close bond and played together on video games or with friends on our street.
Adam was a sweet boy, who loved Pokémon, toy cars and dinosaurs.
We were a tight-knit family, and Mum, Dad, Adam and I would go out for a pub roast every Sunday.
But in time, my parents’ marriage broke down.
Mum moved out, and it was a tough time.
Then, when Adam was aged 18, he started behaving strangely.
One day, when we visited
Mum, he screamed at her. ‘You’re a witch!’ he shouted. I felt stunned, as such anger was completely out of character for Adam.
Back home, Dad began to notice a change in him too.
‘Something’s not right,’ he said, taking Adam to see the GP.
Weeks later, my brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
We felt shocked and anxious about what the future held, especially after Adam was sectioned. We visited him in hospital. But he was on so much medication, it was as if he wasn’t really there.
Then one night, I was at my job as a hotel receptionist, when Dad phoned.
He sounded panicked.
‘Sarah, it’s Adam, he’s escaped from hospital,’ he said.
Dad told me he was going out to search for him.
I felt helpless — Iwas the only one on shift, so I was stuck at work.
When guests came to check in, I plastered on a smile. But I felt worried about Adam. Later, I was relieved when Dad contacted me to say he’d found Adam and was taking him back to hospital.
But soon after, Adam broke out again.
This time, Dad decided to become his carer.
‘I’m going to take him in and look after him myself,’ Dad said.
But I worried about Dad. He hadn’t been given any training on how to take care of someone with schizophrenia.
Years passed, and Adam had his ups and downs.
I met a man and went on to have three children.
By this time, I had moved away.
However, I spoke to Dad every day, and visited him and Adam regularly.
When my relationship came to an end, Dad was there for me.
And when I fell in love with a man named James, he felt thrilled for me.
But Adam struggled.
He felt anxious going out. So he had no social life and kept to himself.
If Dad needed to pop to the shops, he’d asked me to phone Adam to put him at ease.
It was hard f
