Episode 11: Heather McCarthy

In this episode, we hear from Heather McCarthy, mother of O'Shea McCarthy, known as Shea, who was born in December of 1988.

His love of art and music was apparent from an early age, and by the time he reached adolescence, he had become proficient in a variety of instruments and was the recipient of numerous art awards. Shea excelled in his studies throughout his K through 12 education, especially in his love of nature and science. Upon graduation from high school, he was admitted to Purdue University where he was accepted in the Earth and Atmospheric Science Program. Prior to undergoing corrective surgery for a deviated septum the summer before his sophomore year, Shea was prescribed an extremely large dose of the antibiotic Levaquin. After a three-week course of this veritable atomic bomb of antibiotics, Shea's life would never be the same. Heather remembers that her son became a shadow of the “intelligent, curious, beautiful young man” he was as he was suddenly struggling with anxiety, cardiac issues, insomnia, and a host of other adverse effects caused by Levaquin. Despite telling his treatment providers that he believed his condition was the result of an adverse effect of Levaquin, they chose a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and subsequently prescribed a host of psychotropic drugs that included Risperdal, Lamictal and Ativan.
[Heather McCarthy] I think these drugs are so insidious on how they affect your spirit and your mind and, my belief, your soul, because it’s such a slow walk. It’s such a slow chipping away at who he was. And his anxiety was all the time. He, you know, was twitching a lot and he had so much anxiety. And I think he just got tired. And how degrading it is to not be listened to and to not be believed. I mean, we have medical records that says, “I’m afraid,” he’s telling his therapist, “I’m afraid I’m going to crash my car." In hindsight, it’s just this ridiculous, to me, belief that he was — you know, he’s going, he’s getting the treatment, he’s going to get better. Like, this is going to pass. This is a brilliant young man. You know? Like, this is going to pass.”

Heather McCarthy is an attorney from Northwest Indiana who holds advanced degrees in public administration and English lit. Prior to establishing a private law practice, she was an executive in the mental health industry. She served in the role of vice president at the administrative services organization for Regional Mental Health Center, the facility that treated her son, O’Shea. After his death, Heather pursued an eight-year legal case alleging medical malpractice of the mental health treatment providers in the wrongful death of her son. She also testified, with numerous other victims, at the 2015 FDA hearings that resulted in additional black box warnings for the antibiotic Levaquin and the acknowledgment of a disability, Fluoroquinolone Associated Disability, of which symptoms include cardiac issues, insomnia, restlessness, and psychosis, some of which can be permanent. Heather also supports the efforts of MISSD in creating awareness about akathisia, a condition that was fatal for Shea after receiving mental health treatment.

In this episode we hear two interviews with Heather, the first of which was recorded in late 2019, following the MISSD organization's silent auction in Chicago. At that time Heather's lawsuit was in progress and she was not permitted to make mention of it. Later, we hear an interview recorded just last month, following resolution of that litigation.