Today is the first month anniversary since Todd's death, and it has been quite a month. I have experienced more different feelings in the past 30 days than in the past 61 years of my life. From the complete numbness of all feeling and going about the day in a haze, to the overwhelming sadness at the realization that Todd is really not with us anymore.

At Todd's service in Los Angeles on February 6, I made a decision to celebrate and honor his life. That is the focus I have kept, which has been my personal savior as I travel down this unfamiliar path. I have been very mad at him several times when I realize the size of the job he has left me to do. I have always felt that one of my greatest strengths is the ability to delegate and assign tasks. I now realize that Todd has turned the tables on me; he has delegated me to use my skills to help make a difference in the world of mental health disease. Todd has always been the greatest teacher in my life; I believe that the largest part of my learning lies ahead of me. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction knowing that Todd is up there as my Angel, giving me guidance and direction.

I spoke to many doctors trying to get an answer as to exactly what was the matter with Todd. It became obvious that they really didn’t know, and that the treatment of mental health is somewhat of a guessing game. They use terms like bi-polar, manic-depressive, schizophrenic, and chemically imbalanced. In Todd’s case, he had a sleeping disorder and was sometimes depressed. Was he manic-depressive? How chemically imbalanced was he? We do not know! We do know that the best doctors in the world had no cure or answer that could save Todd’s life. In speaking to other families about mental health challenges, the same answer seems to prevail. The medical science of treating brain disorder has a long way to go.

It is with this knowledge that we have formed The Todd Thomas Foundation. The Foundation’s focus is to be able to save the lives of other people like Todd. We will have many goals within this focus. One will be to raise the awareness of just how many people are affected and who have mental health issues in their families. It will also be our goal to provide assistance and funds in research areas related to suicide prevention, sleeping disorder, manic depression, chemical imbalance, and schizophrenia. Todd attempted suicide several times during his life, and ultimately it took him. The prevention of suicide and the preservation of the lives of its survivors will be key recipients of both assistance and funds from the Foundation.

We encourage organizations that deal with suicide prevention to contact us so that we can help--not only through the granting of funds, but through advice and the sharing of contacts we have made, and the sharing of relationships we have built and will continue to build. We are new at this, we will learn and grow as the months and years go by.

Our first goal is to create a fundraising event celebrating Todd’s Life, creating an evening of fun and music with a Black Tie Dinner to be held at the new Four Seasons Resort Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Todd’s birthday, January 19, 2001. I will ask you to mark that day on your calendar. Your invitation will be coming out in the Fall. Since there is only room for 300 people, if you want to be sure you have a ticket don’t hesitate to call; we will set up a dated priority list.

If you wish to reserve a table or a ticket, please call 480.675.7228. I will reserve whatever space you desire. Many of you have called and written to ask how you can make a donation. You now can make your donation payable to The Todd Thomas Foundation.

Thank you for all your prayers, letters, cards, love, and telephone calls. You will never know how important each one of your thoughts has been to all the members of the Thomas Family.

Until the next time,
Peter H .Thomas

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