Though she started late, Mia St. John eventually reached the summit of her boxing career, becoming a world champion. She retired with an enviable record of forty-nine wins against fourteen losses. However, despite her professional dreams coming true, her personal life was marred by one tragedy after another. Last Sunday, the world observed World Suicide Prevention Day, and across the United States, National Suicide Prevention Week will continue until September 16. Having lost her beloved son to suicide eight years ago, St. John recollects the dreaded time when she learned that her child was no more.

Of Mexican-American heritage, Mia St. John married actor Kristoff St. John before she picked up boxing as a career. They were blessed with two children, Julian and Paris. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last long, and the couple went their separate ways by 1995. Tragedy struck the family on November 14, 2014, when the son, Julian, at age twenty-five, died by suicide. Five years later, Kristoff St. John also passed away.

Mia St. John: Battle against unreliable treatment facilities

So she was speaking with the News Nation. The anchor asked, “And Mia? I know that you’ve opened up now about what must have been such a traumatic experience—the death of your son by suicide. And I understand that he was actually in treatment for substance use. It was in that facility that he died by suicide. Can you share with us what was it like to receive that news?”

St. John replied, “Oh, the call was just… it seems so surreal. My thought was that my whole life ended as I knew it. You know, I [had] should mean, what was the most beautiful family? An amazing career and nothing could go wrong, and that day, my whole world fell apart…..” Then, she explained how conditions got worse. Her son was in a hospital that was supposed to be a haven. Apart from his meth addiction, Julian had suicidal tendencies.

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She continued that, sadly, no one seemed concerned about her son. Nobody was checking on him. She said, “They weren’t giving him this medication, his antipsychotic. And then they were falsifying records, so that just made it even more horrific and the lawsuit that followed, you know, luckily our family won, but we still didn’t like I’ll never get my son back.”

Apart from enduring agonizing miseries one after the other, Mia St. John had her demons to deal with. For a long time, she struggled to stay sober. But eventually, she started to fight back against the problem, taking each day as it came.

Helping others in need

But most significantly, learning from her sorrows, she decided to take some action and became a strong suicide prevention advocate besides helping people struggling with mental illnesses. And given her experience, she wants to bring more attention to mental health care facilities. The former WBC Super Welterweight champion manages her initiative, the Mia St. John Foundation. She also authored a book, “Fighting for My Life: A Memoir About a Mother’s Loss and Grief.”

“Wonderful Role Model”: Years After Long-Drawn Battle Against Addiction, Mia St. John Swoons Fans With “Absolutely Breathtaking” Photo

What’s your take on Mia St. John’s life journey? Please share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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