This evening my husband set me up with a discord account so I could chat with him via computer. When kids got home I asked #1 for her information so I could have her on there too. She gave me a couple of her friends' accounts too so I'd have some people to chat with, then invited me to a group chat.
This evening while in chat with my daughter's girlfriend, she mentioned a friend she'd been chatting with earlier who took a bunch of pills - she was afraid her friend was dead, but didn't know what to do about it. Keep in mind this is a group of teenagers in the chat group. I told her to call the place she met her friend at - since she didn't know where she lived or how to get a hold of her parents. After several minutes she came back on and told me she'd called the place they'd met before, and they were going to check in on her.
I struggled with depression greatly as a teenager, and some of my classmates did not live to see graduation. A few have died since then, but one in particular stands out. The old classmate who killed himself a couple years ago. It'll be two years next month... I think of him often. So I worried for my daughter's friend's friend. I don't know her, will probably never meet her, but I worried. I will go above and beyond if it means helping someone in their darkest hour, and it felt like maybe I hadn't done enough here, but there was nothing else I could do.
A while later, my daughter's friend sent me a screenshot from her phone. A text from the girl's mother, assuring her the girl was OK, she'd told her dad, and that they'd gotten her to the hospital in time. I am sobbing with relief. Someone's mom doesn't have to find their baby in the morning cold and blue. Someone's family doesn't have to make funeral arrangements for their beloved teenager. She can get the help she needs to face whatever demons she's battling with. And the last thing my daughter's friend said before she logged off for the night was that she'd be watching her friend closely, checking in every day to see how she's doing. I told her she was amazing for being a supportive friend, and I thanked her for being awesome.
Tonight, my thoughts and prayers go out to this girl and her family. May she fight her demons and win. May she succeed in life. May she find the silver lining, her happy place, something that brings her the joy, the strength, and the drive to keep fighting every day until her demons can be vanquished. May her family come together and support her with open arms, open hearts, and positivity. May she know there is help out there, and may she reach out for it if she ever needs to in the future. Here's to good friends, here's to never giving up on someone, here's to asking for help, here's to supportive connections, no matter how distant. Here's to a great friend who wasn't afraid to call for help when she couldn't do anything directly.