INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — A mother is sharing her story after she attempted to commit suicide three years ago. But it's a voicemail she left that's really inspiring others to call her "A Ray of Sunshine."
Megan Langlais now sees the beauty in life, but that's not always the picture she saw.
"It's all going to be okay in the end, and if it's not okay, then it's not the end," Langlais said.
In Langlais' head, July 26, 2015, was her end.
"I felt like a failure"
The man in her life at that time made her believe that. He beat her up. He yelled at her. He told her she was a terrible mother and that her son would be better off without her.
"I was just so broken down at that point that I believed it," Langlais said.
She turned to anti-depressants, thinking that was her only option.
"I just took them all," she said. "I just didn't want to do it anymore."
The doctors and nurses in the Emergency Room at Community Hospital East that day thought otherwise.
"They fought really really hard to keep me here."
She's here today because of them, and she wanted to say thank you.
One year ago, on her second "Alive Day" as she calls it, she picked up the phone and left this voicemail:
"Hi, my name is Megan. I'm calling because two years ago today, I was admitted into the ER as an attempted suicide, and you guys saved my life. And I just wanted to reach out and say that I'm incredibly thankful that you saved me, and I'm thankful for my second chance at life. I'm trying to be worthy of the chance that I was given, and I just wanted to let someone know that you saved me, and I'm really really thankful. So thank you. That's all. Bye."
Emergency Department Nurse Manager Jim Traylor listened on the other end.
"I still have that voicemail saved and every once in a while when I am kind of burned out, kind of, 'Why am I doing this?' I will still listen to that every once in a while to this day just to remind myself of why we do what we do," Traylor said.
Traylor thought other people needed to hear it, too. Community Health Network shared it with more than 10,000 employees at its annual All-Team Experience. After the voicemail played, Langlais took the stage to share her story.
One of the people listening in the audience was Larissa Smith. Smith thought the story sounded familiar to her. Turns out, she was the charge nurse in the ER that day back in 2015, and she was one of the people who helped save Langlais' life.
Smith met Langlais for the first time a few days before her third "Alive Day."
"We very often don’t hear what happens to people we take care of, so thank you for getting in touch with us and letting us know because it’s encouraging to all of us to know there are good outcomes," Smith told Langlais.
Langlais sees the good now. She watched her son graduate high school, and she's photographed every single one of those monumental moments she would have missed.
"I really intentionally look for the joy in my life, and I'm not afraid to be silly and to laugh and to do crazy things," Langlais said. "I focus on my son and how important it is to have me here. I don't want to be silent anymore."
And now in her eyes, it's okay, and it's not the end.
"She definitely has become a ray of hope to all of us," Traylor said.
Now, Langlais talks very openly about her attempt to commit suicide. She is now working part-time as an executive director for a women's resource group, which helps women gain financial stability. She says she still has days where she feels down, but she says she asks for help now and surrounds herself with people who support her.
"I just try to give back what I feel like I was given, which is my life," Langlais said.
Langlais also finds joy in taking pictures. She even offers free or low-cost shoots for people in the LGBT community.
Have Hope is a partnership between WTHR and Community Health Network that promotes awareness and prevention of suicide in Indiana. If you or someone you know might be at risk, please text or call for help. The national 24/7 hotline is (1-800) 273-8255. Locally, you can reach Community Health's Behavioral Health Services at (317) 621-5700. You can also text HELPNOW to 20121.