COM Outlook Summer/Fall 2019

among children who suffer from trauma,” Cook said. “The suicide of Mr. Richman was incredibly sad to me. In fact, he was in South Florida speaking at Florida Atlantic University not long before he died. He was a model for other parents who lost their children in Parkland. It concerns me how the parents of our 17 angels are doing in general, and particularly in the wake of Mr. Richman taking his own life.” The Rocky Road to Healing As a concerned mother and public health professional, Cook has navigated a tricky path when it comes to supporting her daughters’ healing in the wake of the Parkland incident, subse- quent mass shootings, and recent suicides. “My older daughter, Maia, who is a freshman at the University of Florida (UF), initially refused any kind of behavioral health care, although I kept trying to gently offer text therapy, telemental health, or anything else,” she explained. Following the Pittsburgh shooting, Maia helped plan a vigil at UF. A few weeks later, in November 2018, 12 people were shot and killed in a country- western bar in Thousand Oaks, California, that was frequented by college students. Maia attended a similar vigil at UF for the Thou- sand Oaks victims, and the event triggered a strong reaction. “It was a sad time, and Maia had difficulty feeling safe out of her dorm,” Cook admitted. “Thankfully, she was brave enough to ask for care, and she began telemental health with a great therapist, which provided her important coping skills to resume her freshman year.” The March suicides of two Stoneman Douglas students also proved difficult for Maia, who was close with one of them. “Maia was friends with beautiful Sydney Aiello for years, and she was very torn about whether she should come home for the funeral,” Cook said. “As a mother, I felt she had endured more than her share of funerals, trauma, and grief. I encouraged her to stay in Gaines- ville and participate in a suicide walk at UF, which she did. I hope this was the right decision. Sadly, there is no instruction manual for any of this.” Cook’s daughter, Eden, has become an outspoken advocate for gun control. She was in one of the classrooms on that fateful February 14 afternoon when a former Stoneman Douglas student used an AR-15 assault rifle to kill three students and injure five more in her English class. Her advocacy, however, has come at a cost. “Eden was very involved in gun control last year and spoke at various events, including the American Public Health Associa- tion’s opening conference in California last November,” Cook explained. “She said that speaking publicly empowers her to share her story for change, but on the other hand, she says it is emotion- ally exhausting. While she is a powerful and compelling speaker, changing our country’s gun- control laws should not rest on the shoulders of my young daughter.” Toward the end of 2018, a negative media encounter convinced Eden to temporarily step away from the spotlight. A reporter had chosen to sensation- alize her story when her singing skills earned her an opportunity to perform at a competition held at New York’s prestigious Carne- gie Hall. “During the interview, Eden told the reporter she didn’t want to be known as the ‘girl from Parkland.’ When the article was published, however, the headline read ‘Parkland Shooting Survivor Finds Therapy in Singing at Carnegie Hall,” Cook recalled. “That, plus some other events, resulted in Eden retreating from public speaking for a while,” Cook added. “But she agreed to join several other girls from her class for an extended interview with The New York Times on the one-year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas shooting, and she said the shared experience and discussion were cathartic.” Taking Action Against Inaction As the spate of mass shootings mount, Cook is perplexed that U.S. gun laws haven’t been modified to eliminate easy access to certain weapons. “I cannot rationalize how most people think it is okay that our children have to live in fear every single day of being shot in schools, nightclubs, airports, and universities so other people can have the freedom to purchase killing machines,” she said. “My husband, Igal Hebron, was in the army for four years, and he carried an M16 rifle, which is similar to the AR-15,” she added. 6 | DR. KIRAN C. PATEL COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE Parkland Revisited