Content warning: mentions death by suicide.
By Emma Jones
Kevin Rankin was known for always making time to support a friend in need.
“Kevin’s friends and former classmates still reach out to us, even now, to share how he helped them build a computer from scratch, or tutored them through a difficult course in high school or college,” says Kevin’s mother, Marie Rankin. “He was always so eager to help, and they still remember him for it.”
A gifted student and technology whiz, Kevin’s natural curiosity and passion for science earned him many awards and accolades throughout his school years in Trenton, Ontario. In 2017, Kevin graduated from Algonquin College’s Electrical Engineering Technology Program at the top of his class. He went on to work in the field in Toronto and Ottawa, before returning to southeastern Ontario in 2018 to take a position with a Napanee-based solar farm.
Despite previously telling his family that he was happy, in November 2018, Kevin confided to his parents that he was experiencing increasingly dark thoughts. Gord Rankin, Kevin’s father, and Marie quickly sought help. They consulted their family physician and took Kevin to their local hospital’s emergency department, where he received outpatient support from crisis counsellors. Less than two weeks later, Kevin died by suicide. He was 22 years old.
“It was devastating. He knew what he meant to us, but we could not break the pattern of his thoughts,” says Marie. “I kept asking, ‘Why could nobody help him feel better?’ Now we understand that, even though progress has been made, we still have so much to learn about treating mental illness.”
Grieving Kevin’s loss, Marie and Gord decided to take action to honour their son’s life and help other young people experiencing mental health challenges. Their goal was to recognize the spirit of a young man who gave so much to others and who had so much more to give. In 2019, they endowed the Kevin Gordon Rankin Memorial Award in support of clinical trainees in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry. The award recognizes trainees who demonstrate a particular interest in, and aptitude for, working with young adults with severe mental illness.
“We wanted to do something so Kevin’s memory lives on long after we are gone — so something good can come out of what happened,” says Gord.
David Carlone (PGME ’23) is the award’s most recent recipient. Carlone received the award because of his commitment to improving the lives of young people struggling with mental illness. Having completed his training, he is now a faculty member in Temerty Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and a staff psychiatrist at The Hospital for Sick Children, where he cares for children and youth experiencing depression and other forms of mental illness. Carlone says knowing Kevin’s story has added meaning to the work he does every day.
“This award is a poignant reminder of the urgency and importance of addressing mental health issues, especially among young people,” says Carlone. “It’s particularly significant because it honours the memory of someone who experienced significant mental health challenges.”
Carlone is dedicated to promoting mental wellness among young people through his clinical work and patient advocacy.
“My focus is on providing compassionate care and advancing new forms of evidence-based treatment,” says Carlone. “I’m optimistic and hopeful for the future of child and youth psychiatry.”
Today, Marie and Gord continue to share Kevin’s story with others (including their two-year-old son, Travis) and provide peer support to families experiencing mental health challenges or who have lost a child. The family also looks forward to meeting with the recipients of Kevin’s namesake award — finding comfort in the trainees it supports, and their contributions to child and youth psychiatry.
“It’s encouraging to see the different areas the recipients are working in,” says Marie.
“It gives us hope to learn about the new ways mental illness is being treated.” •