sheroes I in every issue
Story as told to Leigh Cooper Photographed by Haley Tucker
the
foundation
with Mother & Founder,
Lynn Brown-Bulloch
A
mother’s worst fear is that she will outlive her children; imagine outliving your young child because
life on this earth was just too painful.
May 24, 2011 started out much like any other day for Lynn Brown-Bulloch and her son Jonathan. In fact, it was
a pretty good day. They had an early morning meeting with his guidance counselor that turned out very well: not
only had Jonathan’s two years of homeschooling gotten him caught up with his classmates, he was well on his
way to graduating six months early. Mother and son parted ways, exchanging hap py grins, to regroup later on.
That afternoon, Jonathan pulled up at the usual time in his black Chevrolet Tahoe. Though he was eager to hang
out with friends, he took the time to paint a picture of a wolf with his mother. Lynn had no idea this was to be the
last time she would spend with her son. Why would Jonathan, excited and happy, do anything to harm himself?
And yet he did. That night, for reasons his parents still don’t understand, Jonathan took his own life.
To say his parents were devastated is to use words that can’t possibly encapsulate the agony they experienced.
“As a mother,” says Lynn, “your psychic will not allow you to integrate the loss of your child.” For two years
following his death, Lynn struggled to live with his loss. The pain was almost unbearable. The only reason she
survived it, she says, is because she relied on the compassionate power of Jesus Christ.
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June 2014
Jonathan had been a surprise baby. Lynn and Jonathan’s father
had tried repeatedly to have a second child to no avail. One day,
Lynn showed up for a simple outpatient procedure at her doctor’s
office. A pregnancy test was conducted as a matter of routine,
but the results weren’t routine at all: Lynn was pregnant! Ecstatic,
Lynn cancelled her appointment and never looked back.
When their baby was born in February of 1994, she felt “incredible
gratitude that God had blessed us with another child.” She and
her husband chose the name Jonathan because it means “gift
of God.”
Jonathan was a good baby. “He was a sweet, loving, mostly
happy baby,” remembers Lynn. As he grew up, those qualities
evolved to make him a charismatic child who was sympathetic to
the needs of those around him. He would literally give someone
the shirt off his back, and he didn’t like to ask for favors in return.
“He was so humble in many ways. He didn’t want anyone to
spend money.”
In addition to being exceptionally empathetic, Jonathan was
also a very bright boy. “Upon testing, I was told he was at the
gifted level with IQ and even higher on processing speed,” says
Lynn. “As a young child, he amazed us with how he could walk
and talk.” And talking wasn’t all he was good at. Jonathan
enjoyed sports from a young age and could recount “all the
college and pro team players and their stats” when asked.
“Jonathan showed signs of hyperactivity and attention problems
in primary school, leading to a diagnosis of ADHD (attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder),” says Lynn. “His hyperactivity would
sometimes get him in trouble at his Christian school. He was
on overdrive all the time, really.”
Having ADHD was hardly Jonathan’s fault. His parents took him
to an Amen Clinic in Reston, Virginia where he was evaluated and
ultimately diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Brain scans revealed
Jonathan had trouble “shifting gears” mentally, meaning he found it
hard to adjust when the emotional climate of a situation changed.
Being confronted with requests often made him resistant and
rebellious. Yet, he was aware of the stress he caused his family
at times. “He would always come to me later and say he was
sorry,” remembers Lynn. “He had a big conscience.”
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