Roxanne and Guy Lanquetot have been dedicated supporters of NARSAD almost since the organization was established in 1987. They later became founding members of NARSAD’s National Leadership Council, a group of volunteers across the country who help to raise funds for and spread awareness of NARSAD. Residents of New York City, Roxanne and Guy have hosted three piano concerts to benefit NARSAD. The most recent one took place just last Sunday, January 28th, at the architectural landmark House of the Redeemer, built in 1916 as an elegant Manhattan residence for the great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Guy is an architect, and Roxanne is a school psychologist and writer. Her mother, who was a concert pianist, developed schizophrenia in her late 20s. The fundraising concerts marry the couple’s love of the arts to their immutable dedication to finding better solutions for people living with mental illness. Roxanne has published many articles about her and Guy’s struggles to help their son who has schizophrenia. She is currently at work on a memoir, “The Family with Damaged Genes,” and shares with us here why she and Guy became so involved in NARSAD.

Most people are not aware of the pain from losing a child to mental illness. Our son developed schizophrenia 30 years ago, when he was 15 years old. Once attractive, intelligent and articulate, his change into an unshaven, dirty, irritable, hallucinatory and delusional boy, estranged from loved ones, caused endless suffering. The struggle to convince him to try Clozapine, the drug of choice for “medication-resistant” patients, was long-running due to his exercise of “patients’ rights” to refuse the required blood tests. About six years ago, he agreed to try the medication, which has led to an enormous improvement. He is stable now, lives in a group home, and attends a psychosocial rehabilitation program where he is developing his artistic talent through an art group for people with mental illness.

Originally, our son was misdiagnosed as a teenager in the turmoil of an adolescent revolt, and the treating psychiatrist labeled us intrusive and rigid parents with chaotic thinking. The fact that my mother, brother and several cousins had schizophrenia carried no weight. After our son was finally properly diagnosed, we were overwhelmed by confusion and feelings of helplessness. We realized our son would be sick all his life. Adolescence is temporary; mental illness is not. At first, we could not talk to anyone or show our grief. We withdrew from our friends.

Those who have never known the mentally ill cannot understand the loneliness of mental illness. The patient is alone in his/her world; families are isolated. My husband and I emerged from the darkness through NARSAD. I no longer remember how we heard about the organization, but I do remember attending one of NARSAD’s first fundraising concerts, a performance by the singer Barbara Cook in Englewood, N.J. We quickly became staunch supporters of NARSAD.

Supporting an organization that funds research on mental illness makes us feel we are actively helping our son. By providing monetary contributions, even in small amounts, we are facilitating important discoveries about schizophrenia. Through NARSAD, we have talked to many scientists who are doing everything possible to conquer the illness. We have also met many people like us, who have a mentally ill child and with whom we can discuss openly our son’s problems. No longer do we need to keep the family history secret. They share our concerns.

We were one of the first families invited to join NARSAD’s National Leadership Council, and we quickly became active volunteers. We have organized three piano concerts to benefit the organization. The most recent one, which took place on January 28th, featured Gayle Martin Henry, an internationally acclaimed pianist, who performed works by Schumann, Strauss, Wagner and Liszt. We were particularly excited about the Strauss piece, "Enoch Arden," which is based on a Tennyson poem and was performed with actor-director Charles Gerber.

Friends like Gayle and Charles perform at these concerts because they understand the sadness and turmoil caused by our son’s illness and are interested in helping a wonderful organization that does so much for the mentally ill. The people who attended the recent concert had an enjoyable afternoon of music hosted in a beautiful house designated a historical landmark. At the reception following the concert, our guests had a chance to reconnect with old friends and make new friends. We hope the experience deepened their interest in the work of NARSAD and leads some to become more active supporters.

For Guy and me, memories of NARSAD permeate our lives, with no beginning and no end. It is as if we have always been part of the NARSAD family, which has helped us understand the illness, accept the transformation it causes, and assuage the pain of loss and longing for our son before he became ill. Our unwavering belief that research will someday provide the answers for all those with schizophrenia, and for generations to come, makes our involvement in NARSAD very important to us.

Learn more about how you can volunteer for NARSAD and how you can donate today.

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