She doesn’t know how to respond to friends asking how her son is doing.

He was a stellar athlete and scholar in our small Midwest high school, but he ended up suffering health setbacks.

My adult son was a stellar athlete and scholar in our small Midwest high school. But as the years went on, he ended up suffering from chronic pain due to a back injury, which thwarted a career path after college.

Most remember him from high school as a leader and know about the long Covid problems but not about his mental challenges.

"The last three times we made plans, without asking if this was OK with me, she announced right before the event that another person would be joining us."