On March 30, 2022, Dayton resident and Dayton Children's patient, Emma Brun, was featured as part of 24 Months That Changed the World, a special edition of 20/20 on ABC. Emma's story was part of the segment focused on the impact of the pandemic on children's mental health. 

• The full special can be viewed on Hulu. The impact on kids and mental health with Emma's story begins at the 20 minute marker. 
• Watch Emma's segement below
• View the web story featuring both Emma and Dr. John Duby, vice president of community health at Dayton Children’s Hospital

Emma's inspiring story of survival 

In February 2021, with the added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, forced isolation from friends and a loss of identity from not being able to compete or train, Emma ran out of endurance… and hope. She attempted suicide.

A competitive gymnast since she was 9-year-old, Emma Brun, now 18, had been silently struggling for the last few years with troubling symptoms: black spots in her vision, dizziness and sudden heart rate spikes. She was also plagued with frequent injuries. She never told her parents. Emma had been pushing through these obstacles for so long, it became just part of her routine, and it was taking a toll on her body and her spirit.

After her suicide attempt, Emma's parents took her to their nearest emergency department where they spent the next 24-hours waiting to find an in-state inpatient mental health bed for Emma. Emma spent 10 days in an inpatient mental health unit. The full spectrum of what she had been going through began to emerge, slowly at first, then as if a great weight was lifting from her shoulders, all the symptoms, all the struggles poured out of her.

Emma's story with Dayton Children's began months later during her recovery period. Her mom, Sybil, saw a comment on Facebook about the Center for the Female Athlete. Feeling it was a perfect fit, she added an appointment with those specialists, too. “It felt like coming full circle,” says Sybil. “The Center for the Female Athlete was really the one missing piece in my daughter’s care and we realized it once we got answers there." 

Emma’s next visits to the Center for the Female Athlete were customized to her unique situation, sometimes with a physical therapist and sometimes with a mental health counselor. “Previously, Emma resisted going to a counselor because she said she wouldn’t know what to talk about, but it felt different to her under this umbrella,” says Sybil. “It’s a game changer to have that built into the female athlete process.”

Today, Emma says she is in a better place and wants to share her story with others so they know they are not alone. 

"My mom and I started sharing what had happened, because I started to feel better and I started to feel hope again. We realized that this is a message that needs to be told," said Emma in the 20/20 special "It's something that I can share with other people so that other people can experience the same relief and the joy that came afterward."

Watch Emma's segement below from 24 Months That Changed the World

finding help 

Emma is not alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control during February 21–March 20, 2021, suspected suicide attempt ED visits were 50.6% higher among girls aged 12–17 years than during the same period in 2019. Recently, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a new Surgeon General’s Advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis. Learn more. 

Get help now: If you or your child need immediate help due to having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741-741. If there is an immediate safety concern, call 911 or go the nearest emergency room.

Dayton Children's mental health resources 

mental health emergencies

If your child is experiencing a mental health crisis and they are at immediate risk for hurting him/herself or others, please call 911 or go to your local emergency department.

Crisis Hotline Numbers by County

• Montgomery County Crisis Care - 937-224-4646
• Clark County - 937-399-9500
• Warren and Clinton Counties - 1-877-695-6333 (NEED)
• Butler County - 1-844-427-4747 or 1-844-4CRISIS
• Greene County - 937-376-8701
• Darke County, Miami County, Shelby County - 1-800-351-7347

Dayton Children's Price Family behavioral health crisis center

A behavioral health crisis is a challenging time for a parent and child. We are here to help. Kids experiencing a mental health crisis require a more specialized environment to best serve their needs. The Price Family behavioral health crisis center at Dayton Children’s main campus was designed to evaluate children in a safe, caring and effective way. In the crisis center, trained behavioral health clinicians will provide an assessment and connect children to the appropriate services, getting them help quicker.

Behavioral health crisis center operating hours located at Dayton Children's main campus: 

Monday through Friday             8:00 am to midnight

Saturday and Sunday               2:00 pm to midnight

Dayton Children's behavioral health inpatient unit

The goal of this unit is to stabilize a child in crisis in a safe, comfortable and supportive environment then connect that child to ongoing outpatient therapy. The healing process begins on the unit through a combination of traditional talk therapy, art, music and movement therapy as well as the unique use of an interactive media board. 

Dayton Children's day treatment programs

Sometimes when a child is ready to leave the behavioral health inpatient unit, he or she isn’t quite ready to adjust back to normal life. That’s where day treatment programs can help smooth the way. Two levels of care in Dayton Children’s day treatment program can help your child transition back to living at home, going to school and interacting with the world.

In the partial hospitalization program, your teen comes to Dayton Children’s instead of school for one to two weeks, integrating psychoeducation and therapy with their school work. This allows for intensive help with avoiding self-harm, increasing recovery and coping skills, and transitioning back to their everyday life.

For teens who can function at school but still need a more intensive focus on recovery, Dayton Children’s offers the intensive outpatient program. For three hours, three days a week, teens attend group therapy to provide recovery skills for the areas that they may still be struggling with.

suicide prevention 

mental health training for the Dayton community 

Feeling lost about how to help kids with their mental health? Dayton Children’s has two free trainings to help you get started. These trainings are: 

• Mental health first aid - full day class taught by an instructor
• QPR gatekeeper training - 1 hr self-paced online course

These trainings are paid for by the generous donation from the Connor Group Kids and Community Partners and is available to families, schools, or organizations within the Dayton Children’s service area.

Education from reputable sources is the first step to attacking this mental health crisis. You do not have to be a therapist or a medical professional to positively impact a child’s mental health. All you need to do is be empathetic, willing to listen nonjudgmentally, and become knowledgeable about the next steps to getting a child the help they need because suicide is preventable.

On Our Sleeves movement for children's mental health 

Dayton Children's is part of the national On Our Sleeves movement to break the silence surrounding children’s mental health. Our mission is to provide every community in America access to free, evidenced-informed educational resources necessary for breaking stigmas about child mental health, and educating families and advocates. We also support access to services by connecting families to trusted local resources.

Join the movement to receive monthly content delievered to your email to help support children's mental health.