In October, the Oprah Winfrey show came to Santa Clarita to interview the Schofields, a Santa Clarita family with a 7 year old daughter who has severe schizophrenia. Today Oprah will air interviews and footage from the family’s homes.
You might remember the Schofields from other media reports. Last year the LA Times wrote a big story about them, explaining that the girl, January (or Jani for short) had such a bad case of schizophrenia that the father and mother moved into separate apartments in order to keep Jani from possibly hurting her brother:
Michael and Susan Schofield know all too well how mental illness can affect a child’s life. Their 7-year-old daughter, Jani, has been diagnosed with one of the most severe cases of childhood schizophrenia Jani’s doctors say they’ve ever seen.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling brain disorder that may cause a person to hear voices and misinterpret reality. In some cases, schizophrenic patients believe people are plotting to harm them, which causes extreme agitation or depression.
Jani may be younger than most people with schizophrenia, but she battles the same demons. In her case, hallucinations take the form of imaginary children and animals. There’s a little girl named 24 Hours, a rat named Wednesday, and a cat named 400 who tells her to do bad things.
Everytime I read about the Schofields I’m amazed. So much love and suffering in that family and yet they still make it work, despite the challenges. Life is unfair but they carry on. They’re an inspiration to me.
I forgot to set my DVR so if you can, watch and record it and let us know about their time on Oprah today!
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