To add to the news story about my cousin Daniel Kahn, the man shot and killed by a Springfield police officer, I would like to share how loving Daniel was when he wasn’t consumed by his mental illness. There was a beautiful, sweet soul behind the schizophrenia.

Daniel was the baby of four (he had a sister who passed before he was born), and he was so loving, spoiled and affectionate. The Daniel who died is not the Daniel we grew up with. Even the school photo in the story appears so serious in comparison to the fun, loving and joyful Daniel we knew and loved.

It was in his early 20s that mental illness transformed Daniel into someone we did not recognize. His life became a true tragedy both for himself and the strangers he harmed. The one thing his mental illness could not take away was his love of his family.

Although time and time again, we had to painfully witness Daniel overcome by his mental illness, he never had an inclination to harm a hair on a family member’s head. He loved us and we loved him. The mental illness was the great divide that took over our sweet Daniel.

It would be truly hard to fathom Daniel attacking another person, except for our knowledge of the voices in his head telling him that everyone, everywhere was out to get him. Daniel believed people were following him in order to harm him in extreme ways.

It was so difficult to watch. When he frequently fell off the treatment wagon, he was consumed by paranoia and fear at all times.

Mental illness is an ugly, inhumane disease, and more needs to be done to find cures and sustaining treatment plans.

Jillian Kahn-Donalson
Cypress, Texas

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