PART 3 of 3

A teenager’s world narrowed to taunts, pressure, and a painful injury—then one snap nearly ended everything. We sit with Lisa and Will Cummings to trace the full story: an outgoing kid who wanted everyone’s friendship, the slow drip of bullying from kindergarten to high school, and the unseen weight of online gaming harassment that followed him into his room. What follows is unfiltered and human: the scramble to find a therapist who takes your insurance, the drug that makes things worse before anyone realizes, the school meetings and IEP, and two working parents trying to hold life together while staying present for a daughter who becomes a hero.

The crisis is stark. A sister finds her brother. A grandmother does CPR. A father arrives to “we’ve got a pulse.” Doctors warn of lifelong limits—no walking, talking, or eating on his own. Then the small miracles begin. A hand squeeze that isn’t “involuntary.” A whispered “Hi, Dad.” A first stand. Steps. And a move to rehab where a friend named Mason shows up with a football and a dose of normal. The darkness that marked the months before gives way to a gentler light as Will relearns how to eat, speak, and move, and his parents relearn how to breathe.

We don’t offer tidy answers. We share what helped: getting help without hesitation, pushing for a new medication when the first one failed, setting up school accommodations, and building a village that includes youth pastors, clinicians, and peers who show up consistently. If you’re a parent feeling behind, you’re not. Help-seeking is messy, and advocacy is a skill you practice under pressure. The only wrong move is doing nothing.

If this resonates, tap follow, share this with someone who needs courage tonight, and leave a review with one action you’ll take this week. Your story might become someone else’s map.

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