On this episode, we hear from Vincent Schmitt and Yoko Motohama, parents of Romain, a 16-year-old boy who tragically ended his life in 2021 after being prescribed a high dose of Paxil — known in France as Paroxetine — and suffering the effects of akathisia for several agonizing months.
Yoko Motohama was born in Japan and earned a Ph.D. in computer science. She did postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom and spent a decade in Japan as an entrepreneur importing French wines.
Her husband, Vincent Schmitt, a native of France, also earned a Ph.D. and became a lecturer in mathematics and computer science at the University of Leicester. Now based in France, close to Lyon, Vincent focuses on applied mathematics in the research department of a multinational company.
Romain Schmitt was born October 12th, 2004, in Leicester, United Kingdom, the son of Vincent and Yoko. When the boy was four years old his parents decided to relocate the family — which also included Romain's younger sister — to France, and not long after that to the Japanese countryside. Romain had already learned English and French and now became a fluent speaker of Japanese. After nine years the family returned to France, in 2018, where 13-year-old Romain started the third year of middle school. He had a good mind for math and physics and was interested as well in geography, philosophy, politics, and even nuclear science and energy, which his grandfather taught him about. Romain was also a good swimmer, played rugby and tennis, and aspired to become a professional soccer player, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. His love of the game even inspired Romain to master a fourth language, German, so that he could better follow his favorite team, Bayern Munich.
READ THE FULL EPISODE 18 TRANSCRIPT: www.studiocchicago.com/vincent-and-yoko-transcript
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On this episode, we hear from Vincent Schmitt and Yoko Motohama, parents of Romain, a 16-year-old boy who tragically ended his life in 2021 after being prescribed a high dose of Paxil — known in France as Paroxetine — and suffering the effects of akathisia for several agonizing months.
Yoko Motohama was born in Japan and earned a Ph.D. in computer science. She did postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom and spent a decade in Japan as an entrepreneur importing French wines.
Her husband, Vincent Schmitt, a native of France, also earned a Ph.D. and became a lecturer in mathematics and computer science at the University of Leicester. Now based in France, close to Lyon, Vincent focuses on applied mathematics in the research department of a multinational company.
Romain Schmitt was born October 12th, 2004, in Leicester, United Kingdom, the son of Vincent and Yoko. When the boy was four years old his parents decided to relocate the family — which also included Romain's younger sister — to France, and not long after that to the Japanese countryside. Romain had already learned English and French and now became a fluent speaker of Japanese. After nine years the family returned to France, in 2018, where 13-year-old Romain started the third year of middle school. He had a good mind for math and physics and was interested as well in geography, philosophy, politics, and even nuclear science and energy, which his grandfather taught him about. Romain was also a good swimmer, played rugby and tennis, and aspired to become a professional soccer player, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. His love of the game even inspired Romain to master a fourth language, German, so that he could better follow his favorite team, Bayern Munich.
READ THE FULL EPISODE 18 TRANSCRIPT: www.studiocchicago.com/vincent-and-yoko-transcript
In this sixth episode of “Akathisia Stories,” we hear from two amazing women: Mathy and Caroline Downing. Mathy was Candace Downing's mother and Caroline her sister. Candace died 16 years ago this month. Her older sister, Caroline, is now 30 years old. She's been outspoken about drug education since losing her sister in 2004. Just a child herself at the time, she co-wrote and narrated the documentary "Prescription: Suicide?" Winner of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights Award for her advocacy at just 18, Caroline remains passionate about her sister’s legacy. As a young adult, she knows that knowledge is power and encourages others to learn as much as they can about medications and their health before making any major decisions regarding their health care. Her blog, although mostly focused on style, doesn’t shy away from talking about sensitive issues such as mental health and losing a sibling. Caroline works in D.C. and lives in Maryland and hopes to write a book about her experience of losing a sibling to SSRIs. We spend the first half of this episode listening to her story, recorded late last year via Skype.
Currently Mathy Downing is a nonpublic school teacher working with grades kindergarten through fifth grade, in subjects such as math, reading fluency and comprehension, writing, and counseling. She remains an international child advocate, a position she's had since 2005, the year following Candace's death. Advocacy has played a major part in her life beginning the year Candace died. It began with her testifying in front of the FDA in the summer of 2004, which led to numerous television, magazine and newspaper article appearances. She has spoken internationally about the rights of children with informed consent, drug transparency, and over-medication. She has also been heavily involved in numerous documentaries in which Candace's story has played a key part. Mathy is also now a key member of the Know More About Drugs alliance. KMAD alliance is an informative website for parents so that they can make informed decisions about any drug prescribed for their child. Last year we spoke first by Skype and then, when the Internet connection wasn't ideal, by phone.
Akathisia Stories
On this episode, we hear from Vincent Schmitt and Yoko Motohama, parents of Romain, a 16-year-old boy who tragically ended his life in 2021 after being prescribed a high dose of Paxil — known in France as Paroxetine — and suffering the effects of akathisia for several agonizing months.
Yoko Motohama was born in Japan and earned a Ph.D. in computer science. She did postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom and spent a decade in Japan as an entrepreneur importing French wines.
Her husband, Vincent Schmitt, a native of France, also earned a Ph.D. and became a lecturer in mathematics and computer science at the University of Leicester. Now based in France, close to Lyon, Vincent focuses on applied mathematics in the research department of a multinational company.
Romain Schmitt was born October 12th, 2004, in Leicester, United Kingdom, the son of Vincent and Yoko. When the boy was four years old his parents decided to relocate the family — which also included Romain's younger sister — to France, and not long after that to the Japanese countryside. Romain had already learned English and French and now became a fluent speaker of Japanese. After nine years the family returned to France, in 2018, where 13-year-old Romain started the third year of middle school. He had a good mind for math and physics and was interested as well in geography, philosophy, politics, and even nuclear science and energy, which his grandfather taught him about. Romain was also a good swimmer, played rugby and tennis, and aspired to become a professional soccer player, like his idol Cristiano Ronaldo. His love of the game even inspired Romain to master a fourth language, German, so that he could better follow his favorite team, Bayern Munich.
READ THE FULL EPISODE 18 TRANSCRIPT: www.studiocchicago.com/vincent-and-yoko-transcript
