Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140098
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MILDRED WILLIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 66-year-old Nash's story is a modern-day odyssey of a brilliant young man climbing the heights of creativity, riding the crest of success, only to be thrust into a valley of demons challenging his sanity at age 31. His 30-year odyssey, comparable to that of Ulysses, Perseus or any other mythological and legendary heroes, ended victoriously when he was crowned with the 20th-century laurel wreath, the Nobel award.
The prize was awarded to Nash for his Princeton University doctoral thesis on game theory, written when he was 21 years old. The thesis dealt with mathematical complexities involved in games like chess and poker that help explain how markets and economics work.
When he was 31 years old, he was stricken with paranoid schizophrenia. For three decades, he struggled with this disease, repeated hospitalizations, failed treatments, and all the symptoms that accompany this disease - delusions, confusion, disconnected thoughts, paranoia, hallucinations.
Miraculously, 10 years ago, his disease went into remission, and he slowly was able to come out of his isolation and return to his academic community.
I speak as president of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Roanoke Valley concerning this remarkable and inspirational story that has touched all our members and others who will learn of it. We are a local support group, made up of families and friends of persons with severe mental illnesses, as well as the persons themselves.
Currently, much research is going on in the area of mental illnesses. Many new medications are being developed and some new ones are now on the market. With appropriate medical care and rehabilitation, many can recover enough to live productive lives. But there's still much more that can be done in individual communities and families.
One thing that stood out in Nash's story, written sensitively by Sylvia Nasar (The New York Times, Nov. 13), was the safety net of support that surrounded him during his trying periods. Nasar describes "a network of family and friends ... wrapping themselves protectively around Nash and providing him with a safe haven while he was ill. There were the former colleagues who tried to get him work. The sister who made heartbreaking choices about his treatment. The loyal wife who stood by him when she no longer was his wife. The economist who argued to the Nobel committee that mental illness shouldn't be a barrier to the prize. And Princeton University itself."
" ... they made sure that Nash did not wind up, as so many victims of schizophrenia do, a patient in a state hospital, a homeless nomad or a suicide ... ."
Do we in the Roanoke community have that care, concern and dedication for our mentally ill? Where is our safety net and safe havens for many of our mentally ill? How can we achieve that level of understanding and compassion? Can we overcome the stigma that persists? Why, even in Nash's case, Nasar writes: " ... in 1985 the Prize Committee was considering an award for the game theory. However, five years later, the committee was making discreet inquiries, not just about Nash's contribution but about his state of mind."
It was his Princeton friend and colleague, Dr. Harold W. Kuhn, who made it clear to the committee that it would be a grave injustice if Nash's illness cost him the prize.
There are many winners in the remarkable Nash story. The many sacrifices made by those who love and care for him need to be recognized as well. A laurel wreath to those heroes, too.
Mildred Willis of Roanoke is president of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Roanoke Valley.
by CNB