Fullerton is a growing community with over 135,000 residents. In the past five years, downtown Fullerton has undergone some major changes, including the opening of over 30 new businesses that sell alcohol. Live entertainment, including music and theatre, is also on the rise in downtown Fullerton.

Fullerton also consistently garners high marks as being a solid community for families. A considerable percentage of the population of Fullerton is made up of families with children under the age of 18. Families are calling Fullerton home because of good schools and a lower crime rate than a good portion of Southern California.

Despite all of the positive developments in Fullerton in recent years, there have also been some tragic moments in the city as well. One of the most shocking of such situations involved the suicide of a Fullerton resident named Shaun Reyna.

The Story of Shaun Reyna

Shaun Reyna had been afflicted with a variety of physical and mental ailments over the years. These conditions were aggravated by his long-term abuse of alcohol and drugs. On top of all of these issues, Reyna was legally blind.

Ultimately, Reyna made the decision to stop using drugs and stop drinking cold turkey. After making that decision, Reyna called A Better Tomorrow, a treatment center in Fullerton. During the phone conversation, Reyna told the staff at A Better Tomorrow, that he was “barely hanging on by the edge of my nails.” He also told the staff of the treatment facility: “I’m depressed. I’m paranoid. I don’t know. I just feel like people are watching me, and I feel like I can’t hold on any longer.”

The staff from the facility assured Reyna that A Better Tomorrow could address his problems in a completely safe environment. Reyna arrived and checked into the center.

The normal protocol at the commencement of inpatient treatment is to take a blood sample from a new admit to ascertain what drugs are in the system. Not long after his admission, Reyna began to experience tremors and hallucinations. These types of reactions to commonly occur when a person is experiencing withdrawal from drugs and alcohol.

When a person begins to experience symptoms like this during the withdrawal, medical intervention is vital. The staff at A Better Tomorrow was well aware of what was going on with Reyna. Some of the frontline staff members recommended to supervisory staff that Reyna be taken to the hospital. Supervisors at A Better Tomorrow vetoed taking Reyna to the hospital.

Reyna was left in his room at A Better Tomorrow, with no real checks on his welfare performed by the staff. Within 20 hours of his admission to the treatment center, Reyna pulled a razor from his luggage. Reyna cut his arms and slit his throat. He bled to death.

Hours passed before the staff at A Better Tomorrow checked up on Reyna. He had been dead for hours by the time his body was discovered. He left behind a wife who was devastated by the manner in which Reyna died in the treatment facility.

Biohazard Cleanup After Suicide

In the aftermath of a suicide like that of Shaun Reyna at A Better Tomorrow, the need for an appropriate biohazard cleanup exists. The reality is that blood and bodily fluids can contain pathogens that are capable of causing serious diseases. There is no evidence that this occurred in the case of Reyna’s death. The fact is that when faced with cleaning up blood and bodily fluids, a person cannot know at the moment whether pathogens exist in the blood and other fluids.

The advisable course is to retain the services of a biohazard cleanup professional. With a professional, the biohazard cleanup process itself is undertaken in a safe manner. In addition, the cleanup process is comprehensive and thorough, with the ultimate goal of full remediation and returning the space where the suicide occurred to a wholly usable condition.

Fullerton Grief and Bereavement Counseling for Survivors of Suicide

In the aftermath of losing a loved one to suicide, many people need the professional assistance of an experienced grief and bereavement counselor. There are grief and bereavement counselors in Fullerton who have strong backgrounds in assisting survivors of suicide. These professionals are also able to arrange for a person dealing with grief to find an appropriate therapeutic group. Oftentimes, a survivor of suicide benefits from both individuals as well as group grief and bereavement therapy.

These include:

Orchid D. Johnson
1513 E Chapman Ave
Fullerton, California 92831
(714) 526-4673

Melissa Fisher Goldman, LCSW
305 N Harbor Blvd, Suite 202
Fullerton, California 92832
(714) 676-8566

Maribeth Ekey
1012 E. Chapman Ave
Fullerton, California 92831
(714) 701-6693

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