Her mother threw herself from a bridge with her in her arms like a baby, survived and, 34 years later, made a radical decision

Since he's discovered that his mother is thrown from a bridge with her Bertha Loaiza understood in her arms and death that a person's depression also affects her family. Victim herself, the woman decided to devote her life to promoting mental health among Latinos in the United States.

Although her voice is still broken, Loaiza, a 37-year-old Hispanic woman, believes she has to tell the world how the lack of attention to the signs of depression it marked his life since the age of three years.

On August 4, 1985, when Angelica Gomez, Loaiza's mother, he threw himself into the void from the huge Coronado Bridge in San Diego, California. The 24 year old woman was not alone when she jumped nearly 75 meters (246 feet) to the ocean. In his arms, he was carrying his daughter.

Two fishermen saw the scene and tried to save them, although only the boy answered the first aid. It was five o'clock in the afternoon.

From that moment, there is no longer a single flash in Loaiza's memory. Do not remember that It was called the "miracle girl" and that he received letters of support from almost the whole country, in which he wished him a speedy recovery.

Loaiza suffered a hip fracture and had a problem in the right eye. The researchers determined that Gomez 's body fell for the first time into the ocean and served as a shield for your daughter. We also knew that the woman had gone through a strong depressionpossibly caused by a divorce.

None of these details were revealed to him Loaiza in her childhood, since she lived a childhood and adolescence surrounded by the love of her maternal grandparents and aunt. The presence of his mother was felt on the photos that covered the whole house.

"I grew up thinking that my mother had died in a car accident," Loiza said. Efe. "My story is a miracle and I believe this miracle can be repeated in many families. You have to look for help, "said the now-mother of two.

At the age of 17, she found a recording with reports of the event. "There was a lot of confusion, anger, I felt so guilty, my family apologized and I understood that it was the right time to know"he explained.

The following years were not easy. Loaiza needed a therapy to understand the fact and understand that depression was a difficult disease to see.

"It's not like cancer, you can diagnose the severity of the problem, here You can come to suicide and no one has noticed"he said.

Ten years after experiencing her past, the Californian began to think that her story made sense goal: convert to mental health advocate, especially among Latinos.

Loaiza knows that for Hispanics, the subject is still taboo. He also knows that talking about mental problems is badociated with the stigma of "madness".

The process of publicly explaining and encouraging others cost him a few more years, but the courage has come to him and his work begins where his mother's life is over. at Coronado Bridge.

Hispanics joined the organization Coronado San Diego Collaborative for Suicide Prevention and shared its story to promote the construction of barriers at this location.

Since 1969, when the bridge was built, more than 400 people taken away by jumping into the ocean.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, for its acronym in English), since 1999 the suicide rate has been increased by 30% nationwide.

When learning, the Latina has the support of her husband and children, eleven and seven, with whom she spoke about the subject and how she wanted to make a difference.

"There are ways to talk to and educate children about this, because we need a lot in the field of suicide prevention in adolescents"He warns.

The Hispanic woman wanted to broaden her experience and joined the "Find What to Say" Campaign, from the Kaiser Permanente organization, where Loaiza tells her story in Spanish.

The psychiatrist Luis Manuel Sandoval, who is also part of the campaign, said that his message was very important, especially among the immigrant community and adolescents.

The specialist insists on CDC statistics, which ensure that teenagers Hispanics are more likely think of committing suicide and trying to do it only the Anglo-Saxons.

The call of Loaiza is for erase the stigma of mental illness, stress the importance of talking about depression and suicide, and how seeking help can save lives in an entire family.

"I hope my story will inspire Latinos to discover signs of depression and suicide and to know that there is help," Loaiza concluded.