Ron had a tough childhood. His family was abused by his father. Holly hypothesized that Ron felt like he did not deserve anything. She reported, “When he was feeling good, when the medicine was working, he would sabotage it. He would go to the doctor and say it’s not what I really have. The doctor would change his meds.”
During their eight years of marriage, Ron was hospitalized four times. He had surgery for Crohn’s Disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, and was readmitted for complications. Following surgery, Ron’s doctor warned him about driving while taking his pain medication. However, he did drive while on the medication, had an accident resulting in a brain injury, and was out of work for a year. In addition, he was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning, and twice for psychiatric reasons, usually related to not taking medications or taking only some of his medications.
Following the brain injury, Ron was tested for driving and was told he should not drive. Although his reaction time was good, he could not concentrate well enough to pay attention to cars coming from several directions. He did not drive for several years, but when he left Holly, he asked his doctor to sign a release so he could drive again. Ron was recently killed in a car accident while texting and driving. He had not been taking his medications for several months.