Bill named for 17-year-old Strongsville native who died by suicide while battling COVID-19 - Wooster Daily Record

STRONGSVILLE - When 17-year-old son Brycen Gray's symptoms quickly worsened, his mother, Tara Gray, didn't know he had COVID-19.

Gray said her son, who was never diagnosed with a mental illness, died after the infectious virus caused him to develop a psychiatric illness. .

"Hindsight is 2020, " said Gray. "Had I known he had COVID-19 and this was going to be our destiny and we had more information, I would never have left him at home alone.".

Nearly seven months after his death, Gray's family is calling for federal research funds to study COVID-19 and the mental health and neurological effects it has on the human body.

I know kids can hide it," Gray said.

While he could sleep, he didn't eat or drink, she said.

"I asked what he was anxious about, but he didn't know," she said.

"I'm a nurse, so I've been there through death for other families and have known people who have lost children for a variety of reasons," Gray said.

"A lot of kids from all over came, but I remember a couple of parents in the line telling me how he helped them or helped their child with a mental health issue or with feeling welcomed and comforted," Gray said.

"They didn't know what to do," Gray said

Gonzalez introduced a bill in late October titled, "The Brycen Gray and Ben Price COVID-19 Neurological Impact Act." It would award grants to support research regarding the psychiatric and neurological impacts of the virus. 

whose loved ones have experienced some form of mental illness following a COVID-19 diagnosis, she said

While studies point toward a connection between physical illnesses affecting an individual's mental health, more is needed regarding COVID-19, said the President of the Counselling Center of Wayne and Holmes Counties Karen Berry