Pierce's Story

Pierce Cordle was an intelligent, driven, happy 22 year old guy on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor. He had already graduated Magna Cum Laude from Marquette University with a degree in Bio-Medical Science. He had a job he loved in a hospital emergency room as an ER scribe, and had an interview already scheduled with his first-choice medical school. His work supervisors raved about his job performance. He had friends and family who loved him beyond words, and he loved them all back. He had the quickest wit and made people laugh like no one else we knew. He loved music and the Minnesota Vikings; and was an accomplished trumpet player. He was firmly on the path to the rest of his life, and no one doubted that he would absolutely succeed.

Until December 8, 2016.

That day started like every other day. Pierce had to work, so was up early listening to his favorite music-Owl City to be exact- getting ready for work. He had been up late the night before, happily watching TV with the dear family friends he lived with. A completely normal evening. Pierce was never late for work, and never missed a single shift. That day was no different. Off to work he went, not a single thing different than any other morning.

From all accounts, Pierce's work day was a normal one. He diligently did his job per his norm, while interacting normally with co-workers he knew well and enjoyed working with. They were all serious and focused professionals when they needed to be; but also laughed together when time allowed. According to his co-workers, it was a normal shift in the ER that day; nothing terrible or traumatizing had happened in the course of their work.

Until it happened to Pierce.

Pierce's shift didn't end until 9pm that day; so a couple times throughout long days like that Pierce would get breaks. While we can never know every detail of Pierce’s final couple hours, we do know that sometime late afternoon Pierce mentioned to a co-worker that he was taking a break. He told them he needed to run out to his car, but that he would be back. Pierce casually walked away; and the co-worker didn’t think anything of it. Pierce appeared to be acting completely normal.

Except he never made it back.

When Pierce left the ER, we know he was walking. What we learned later is that something was terribly wrong inside his brain; and that Pierce must have sensed it but didn’t know what to do. He appeared to try to "walk it off". He first walked the hallways inside, then eventually made his way outside. As he walked, instead of his brain returning to it’s normal calm state; it continued to misfire and flooded his mind with irrational thoughts. A state of panic took over; and despite Pierce’s knowledge of human physiology; he was unable to stop it. With his last shreds of rational thought, Pierce called his Mom for help. He was confused, not understanding what was happening to him and not able to process the fact that whatever it was, that it would stop. His brain wasn't allowing his brilliant mind to hear his Mom's voice assuring him that he was going to be OK, and that his brain could be fixed. Instead, the remainder of Pierce's rational thought slipped away and he walked off the edge of the ER parking garage.

He did not survive.

There was not a single warning sign Pierce was going to die that day. Not a warning sign to him, or to anyone around him. He wasn't ill, and had never presented a single symptom of serious depression or mental illness. The dear family friends he lived with...one was a clinical psychologist and the other an experienced nurse. They spent every evening together with Pierce. He worked sided by side every single day with ER physicians trained to see and treat signs of suicidal thought. He talked to his parents every day. He had a ton of plans; including fun ones the very next day with his family.

Whatever catastrophic event happened inside Pierce's brain that day was sudden, terrifying and fatal. He died in the very place you would take your loved one for help if you were in fear of them taking their own life. His ER co-workers were left shocked and stunned; asking themselves over and over how could this have happened...especially on "their watch." Pierce's beloved family and friends left shocked and grief stricken; having to come to grips with the unimaginable horror of this reality. Hearts forever shattered.

Yes, Pierce died from suicide. But it was not a choice, it was a tragedy. He didn’t wake up that day knowing it was his last; and he certainly didn’t choose to die. Suicide is complex and misunderstood. It can absolutely happen without warning, in young people who are otherwise healthy and happy. We will never know if there is anything that could have prevented the tragedy that happened to Pierce, but we know for sure that remaining silent about it helps no one. Us included. This can truly happen to any family, to anyone’s child. We have chosen to share our tragedy in the hopes of it helping others. And to do all we can to start an honest conversation about suicide death.