Glynis Dagmar Wafer was raised in poverty by a    single parent.  With every reason in the world to choose failure, she didn’t.  Instead, she was a straight-A, honor roll student.  She was a star athlete who excelled in basketball.  She was a vocalist, whose greatest joy was to sing in front of others, something she did for most of her life. 

Glynis wanted to be an example to other young women who refused to allow the circumstance of birth to dictate their life stories.  She majored in psychology at Texas Tech University.  It was during this time, that she began to experience the first signs of depression.  Research tells us that first year college students are often at high risk for severe depression.  For Glynis, the depression was rooted in struggles from her past.  She began taking medications to help her deal with her depression.  After an injury at work, she was prescribed even more medication.  Soon, Glynis was on a variety of pain killers and anti-depressants.  In December 2005, Glynis passed away at the age of 38, killed by a cocktail of prescription medications taken for various physical and mental ailments.  The medicines may have helped Glynis face life, but they also stole her life away from her in bits and pieces.  Depression is an illness that affects millions of Americans.  Yet, Glynis was a person of resolute spirit.  She was an achiever who lost her battle against depression, and whose potential was stolen from her by improperly prescribed medications.  I honor her memory because remembering is the only gift  that we can give to a loved one who has slipped beyond the veil of time.   

Copyright © 2008 Mechelle Avey