Taken For Granted Chapter 1

Taken For Granted

Chapter 1


“One fewer for group today: Grant’s dead,”
Babette St. John announced as a matter of
fact and handed Kelly Anderson a cup of
coffee.

“Huh?” Kelly muttered, then sipped her coffee
to clear her head. Babs never expressed
much emotion with her words so Kelly wasn’t
sure if she had just heard bad news or good.

“Offed himself sometime yesterday. Didn’t
bother to leave a note so you won’t have much
to discuss with the others today. I don’t think
they know yet, not from what I overheard at the
coffee pot anyway.” She was gathering up
handouts for the morning nutrition group as
she spoke.

“Grant wasn’t suicidal,” Kelly said, “He wasn’t
doing great, but he wasn’t showing signs of
suicidal ideation.”

“Well, what can I tell ya?” Babs replied without
looking up from her task, “I’ll go get them
started with group while you get settled.”

Kelly had been running New Horizons since it
opened six months ago. She had a masters
in psychology with a minor in activities
therapy. New Horizons was an experimental
program funded by Sparrow University of
health Sciences. The University’s outpatient
counseling clinic referred patients if they
required more than the single forty-five minute
hour per week allotted by the University clinic.
New Horizons offered full and half day
sessions that included groups on nutrition,
stress reduction, arts and crafts, vocational
exploration and group counseling. In addition
to groups each patient also received two one
on one counseling sessions per week with
Kelly.

Grant Michaels, twenty-seven year old
construction worker on disability, had been Dr.
Phil Martin’s patient for six weeks prior to
being referred to New Horizons. He had
attended four one-to-one sessions with Kelly
during the two weeks he had been a patient at
New Horizons. He was diagnosed with
depression after having to give up a career in
construction work due to a permanent arm
injury sustained in a mugging.
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Dr. Phil Martin officially heard of Grant’s
suicide at the Friday afternoon directors
meeting. Kelly attended as director of New
Horizons, Dr. Martin as the director of
outpatient clinical services.

Kelly spoke with Martin regarding Grant
because he was familiar with Grant’s case. “I
just don’t believe he was suicidal. His score
on the Beck’s Inventory had improved to the
mildly depressed range,” Kelly had reasoned.
“He was making good progress.
Something’s not right about this. What’s your
take on it?” she asked him.

“Well, you know as well as I that once
someone has decided on suicide, it relieves
them of some stresses and they do make
improvements. Unfortunately these
improvements don’t change the outcome
once the decision has been made. It just
happens, Kelly, and there is nothing you or I
can do to prevent it.” He tried to sound sincere
and reassuring. The meeting came to order
and ended further discussion.

That night he thought about Grant and Kelly.
He hoped she wasn’t going to be trouble. He
would have to watch her.