| Shannon Proudfoot | |
| The Ottawa Citizen |
After a high-profile fight to refuse treatment for a mental illness that nearly cost him his life, Scott Starson is now on a tenuous road to recovery and could be released into the community next year, a tribunal was told yesterday.
The 49-year-old, who is currently living in a Brockville psychiatric institution, became a rallying point for patients' rights advocates two years ago when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled he should not be forced to take medication for his schizo-affective disorder.
But by last fall, he became so overwhelmed by what his psychiatrist describes as the "duelling" voices in his head that he stopped eating and drinking, becoming malnourished and dangerously underweight. And in May, the Consent and Capacity Board ruled that the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital could forcibly medicate Mr. Starson on the grounds he was incapable of making the decision for himself and that his life was in danger.
Yesterday, psychiatrist Neil McFeely said that after three months of treatment for a combination of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, Mr. Starson has gained back much of the weight he lost and made "excellent" progress at emerging from the delusional existence that has plagued him since he became mentally ill two decades ago. However, in issuing his assessment of Mr. Starson at an Ontario review board hearing at the Brockville institution, Dr. McFeely also recommended his patient remain in the hospital for the next year. The board adjourned at the end of the hearing. Its decision on the psychiatrist's recommendations is expected within three weeks.
The psychiatrist told board members Mr. Starson objected strongly to treatment at first, but he became increasingly co-operative as it took effect. He is now able to groom himself, buy his own clothes and even look in the mirror -- something he couldn't do in the full grips of the disease.
Dr. McFeely said Mr. Starson can be allowed an increasing level of freedom and gradually reintroduced to the community as he improves.
His condition is still delicate and requires time for treatment to solidify, the doctor added.
The improvement in Mr. Starson's condition was good news to his mother, who attended the hearing. "Amazing, amazing. I'm thrilled beyond words, really," said Jeanne Stevens. She said she was thrilled with the "100-per-cent improvement" over the last few months. She had not seen him since the spring, when his 6-foot-1 frame had wasted to 118 pounds. "He looked like a concentration camp victim."
Mrs. Stevens, who can make decisions on her son's behalf, has been a staunch advocate for him, but in her capacity as substitute decision-maker, she was wholly in favour of the hospital's decision to forcibly medicate him.
"When he's not on medication, I'm his worst enemy. When he's medicated, I'm his best friend, because who else is going to help him?"
The Brockville institution is the third one at which Mr. Starson has been incarcerated since he was arrested for making death threats seven years ago. Mr. Starson, who changed his surname from Schultzman in 1993 to demonstrate his connection to the cosmos, has been likened to John Nash, the troubled genius whose life was depicted in the film A Beautiful Mind. He is said to be extremely intelligent, with a self-taught knowledge of physics.
Others say that analogy does Mr. Nash a disservice. While Mr. Nash was well-established and a brilliant mathematician before symptoms of his illness showed, Mr. Starson was untrained in physics and had only read enough to know the buzzwords.
Yesterday, in a brief interview after the hearing, Mr. Starson said his goal is to get out of institutions so he can return to the work he loves. "The system doesn't allow me to go right out into the community. They want gradual steps. So, it's giving into the system to make those steps so that I can contribute, because to contribute is really what I'm about. I have to contribute to feel worthwhile."
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