Help up American Fork Canyon

[Hickey]

Or become a meth Lord?

 

[Bart]

Not to be insensitive, but it sounds like a 'die-later slowly and painfully or die now while you're still in control of your life' situation. Can't say I blame the guy.

I am a firm believer in this also. I'd rather have some control over my demise than slowly waste away becoming a vegetable and a money drain on my family, eventually putting them into medical bankruptcy.

Here's an explanation of his condition from his family.

Many people have asked how Tyson died. We want to share his story so that others can be aware of the rare disease that caused Tyson to take his life. We hope that through sharing his story it can bring more awareness to others and that we can stop the needless loss of life. The reason
Hashimoto's Encephalopathy is so rare is because it is often misdiagnosed. (see link in comments)
Tyson has had auto immune issues since the moment he was brought into this world. Growing up he lived with the burden of Alopecia Areata and Vitiligo. These are just a few of the many auto immune diseases he struggled with.

On March 8th Tyson went home from work because his head hurt and was foggy. We found him in a catatonic state on the couch and rushed him to the hospital. Eventually he came back to his surroundings and was more aware; the doctors did multiple tests and told us nothing was wrong and he would be fine. Three weeks later he went into a comatose state so we rushed him to the ER. More tests were ran and with the opinion of multiple doctors he was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Encephalopathy: a rare disease that even the doctors who diagnosed him knew little about.
He got started on medication (predominantly treated with steroids).

Due to his weak auto immune system it was inevitable that Tyson struggled with depression. The medication he was prescribed is known to cause and intensify thoughts of suicide. The doctors were grasping at strings with not knowing how to treat such a rare disease.

Tyson experienced a rollercoaster of symptoms, there were many times where he could not speak or express his emotions. Nodding his head yes or no became a main form of communication. He shared with us how he felt like he was watching himself from a third person perspective and wasn't in control. One time he shared how he had won the lottery and purchased a home. He believed things that did not happen. The disease was taking over and destroying his mind, to the point that he took his own life.

The Tyson we all knew and loved wanted to live. Tyson didn't kill himself. The disease did. We are sharing his story in hopes that more people will become aware of Hashimoto's Encephalopathy and the terrible destruction it causes. The world needs more awareness, more research. We need to stop the needless loss of life!

We were blessed with some really good days we shared with Tyson the past two months since he was diagnosed. We were lucky to express love, laughter, and share time with him before he passed.
We are grateful for the amazing support we have had during this hard time. We have been amazed by the generosity, service, and love from all of you; some complete strangers that didn't even know Tyson or our family.

Tyson left behind a beautiful amazing wife, a two year old son, and a newborn that was born the same week Tyson left us.
We ask you at this time to share his story and to help out his young family with medical and funeral service costs. We do not want his wife to have the burden of financial struggle on top of everything else she is going through at this time. Thank you so much.

 

[Kevin B.]

That would be such a tough call. Balance your life insurance payout and the immediate needs of your family against a ton of crippling medical debt and the future needs of your family, and try to make the right decision while you're not even in charge of your own mind.

I won't judge. He did what he felt like he needed to do. His family sounds awesome, I hope they find peace.