Effe Barker Human Interest

Dr. Joel Gamo is a professor of medicine at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His son Miguel Antonio Gamo jumped off Coronado bridge in 2019. Initially he went missing on the 29th of September but later his body was found on the 3rd of October.   In this interview, Dr. Gamo said that people who are depressed have a great possibility they'll mask their depression; they come home smiling, do their usual thing, or even play video games with their friends, you won't really know unless you explore. He said that while it is not a good idea to look at their diary if they have one, that is how he learned about his son's essay describing him as an absentee father.  Dr. Gamo added that in retrospect he should've been more proactive about his son's mental health and advises anyone with a family member suffering from depression to convince them to get a second opinion with a psychiatrist because they're the one who can prescribe antidepressants.  Meanwhile, Dr. Gamo regretted that he was not able to help his son with his mental health, given the fact that he is a doctor. He said that if he was an engineer, an architect, or a lawyer and had no medical background it would have been okay; he would not feel as guilty. He added that a week before he died, he was giving a lecture to his nursing students and talked about depression. For his son to die of suicide the next week he said was so hard.  Email us at efebarker@gmail.com for story suggestions.