Frank Cimorelli has countless memories to look back upon. A star pitcher at Franklin Delano Roosevelt High who went on to a professional career that included a stint in Major League Baseball, Cimorelli has his share of unforgettable moments that he wishes he could relive.
After playing baseball for both FDR and Dutchess Community College, Cimorelli was selected in the 37th round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He eventually made it to the major leagues in 1994, appearing in 11 games and recording one save. This past November, he was inducted into the Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame.
Despite all that, an eight-year pro career that included time in MLB, there is one thought that stands above any other – he wishes he could tell his son that he loves him just one more time.
In December 2022, Cimorelli’s world came crashing down right in front of his eyes in horrific fashion. Sitting in his Wisconsin home, he watched his 24-year-old son, Camden, walk into his office shortly after the two returned home. Frank Cimorelli knew something was wrong.
When it all changed
“The day I picked him up, he was just really angry and frantic,” Cimorelli noted. Camden had stepped into the room with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over and draping his face, confusing Cimorelli as to what was going on. “He held up his fingers like a gun and everything just came crashing down. My world … the bottom fell out.”
Camden then exposed a firearm under his chin, fired and blew all the teeth out of his mouth.
“I’m trying to help him, not knowing if he is dying right in front of me.”
After an extended waiting period for an ambulance and medical officials to arrive due to Cimorelli telling the authorities that a gun was involved, he had hardly any details of what was going on. Astonishingly, he said that Camden actually walked on his own and entered the ambulance while police were on the scene.
Having to accept the reality of the moment, Cimorelli just saw his son attempt suicide with a legally purchased firearm. To make matters worse, Camden tested positive for COVID and his family was unable to immediately see him for a few days after surgery.
“Those three-and-a-half weeks of every day, going to the hospital every day… those halls would feel so long walking down them,” he said with an emotional sigh. “This bubble that I was in, time was different. I was just in a fog.”
Through nearly a month in the hospital in Milwaukee, three surgeries and a plate in his jaw, Cimorelli was there for his son every step of the way.
“He would be crying and wailing on the phone, just miserable. His jaw was wired shut and he was just miserable,” Cimorelli said. “Hearing that on the phone every day, it’s torture. It’s like torture because you can’t do anything.”
The hospital had notified Cimorelli and the family that they were planning to release Camden to outpatient care. Feeling hopeless and like he had exhausted all efforts to help in the decade-long battle his son had gone through, he pleaded for the hospital not to release Camden.
The institution did. Less than 24 hours later, Camden was dead.
Camden passed away from what Cimorelli believes were complications from the initial attempt and stress-related health problems. He was now a father left without a son.
A new mission
From that moment, throughout all the grief and torture, Cimorelli has felt compelled to use his story in any way to help out. Speaking at events around the country and taking any opportunity to spread a message, he’s now carved out a second career as a mental health advocate and supporter.
Some of those messages include stricter gun regulations and making it tougher to purchase a firearm without proper and extensive background checks. Cimorelli is not against responsible firearm ownership, and is actually in favor of it, but he understands that the process as it stands is far too unreliable.
Today, just 22 states around the country have “red flag” gun laws that help the state government have the ability to remove firearms from those who seem to be a danger to themselves or others. New York is one of those, with constant improvements and additions to the laws. Even still with the efforts, firearm suicide is a rising pattern over recent times.
Wisconsin, however, lags behind on gun reform compared to New York and other states. Camden legally purchased the firearm without any issue. Now, Frank Cimorelli is glad that states are taking the initiative and action to fight against the issue.
There is still far more to be done, however.
“Is it going to help everyone? No. But I think anything that we do is going to help save someone,” Cimorelli said.
Aside from legal matters and the moments leading up to the horrific moment, Cimorelli understands that suicide is a far deeper issue than gun access. The mental health crisis is the root cause, and he believes this can be best done by simply trying to connect with the patient as a human more than anything else.
“One thing that needs to be done and would be extremely helpful is if doctors actually try to get to know the patients. Especially when they’re young, instead of it being such a clinical experience for the kid, you have to get down to their level and get to know them before they open up anything to you,” he said. “In a lot of cases, if you don’t get to them when they’re younger, then their mental health just gets worse.”
Cimorelli believes wholeheartedly in these principles and how they can make a huge change and impact to even just one singular person. He says he’s gone to therapy every week for the past three years and has cherished every moment of it, realizing the impact it can have on someone. He encourages every single person to seek out therapy in some fashion.
Cimorelli spends much of his free time at various events and speaking opportunities to help spread the message. If he can help just one person, it’s more than enough. Being a former professional athlete has led him down many roads and opportunities in his life. The one right now is more important to him than any other.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: FDR alum, ex-MLB pitcher a mental health advocate after tragic loss
Reporting by Eric Decker, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
