Cooper Prorok
Cooper Prorok was the shy and quiet 🤫 sibling, but also the smartest of the three of them, according to his family.
Once you got him talking, especially with family, he was too smart for his own good and was a total goofball.
On a Sunday night in early January, Cooper and his family were enjoying their traditional Sunday family dinner at a local steakhouse.
They went home, Cooper to his room after he dropped off his leftovers. Later, he asked his mom, Megan Dannelly, what their day would consist of on Monday.
Later that night Megan would hear a noise from upstairs, eventually breaking down the door to find that her son had taken his own life.
There were no red flags.
No previous talk of suicide.
Nothing that would point to mental health concerns.
It’s a struggle that Megan will hold with her the rest of her life. The guilt that she should have protected her son from his own mental health still tugs at her emotional wellbeing.
But she’s taking that energy and going out to the community to raise awareness about suicide and mental health struggles along with her oldest son, Ethan.
“I want to advocate for speaking up when something is wrong,” Megan said of her motivations to make a difference.
“I want no judgement for people who decide to speak up; I want education and awareness for people; and I want better aftercare for people like us.”
Megan’s son Ethan specifically wants to address the concerns among males.
“There’s this stereotype and social norm that if you’re a man you have to be the breadwinner and show no emotion other than happiness,” Ethan said. “But mental health and emotions are real. Everyone has emotions, even if it’s not socially accepted.”
The comfort and healing Live On has provided us has been healing. Knowing that Cooper still lives on in others is healing and comforts our hearts.