It was supposed to be just another silly video of brothers playing around. Instead, it turned out to be the last joyful moment Alli Skrbek would ever capture of her sons together.
Just months later, her 22-year-old son, Alex Fornerod, would take his own life—leaving behind a shattered family and a grieving mother now using her pain to fight a silent killer: depression.
“I thought he was doing really well,” Skrbek told reporters, recalling the moment her world imploded on April 1. That morning, she opened her phone to a message she never could have imagined: her son had died by suicide.
What she didn’t know then—but would soon discover—was that Alex had been spiraling for months behind a carefully kept mask. “He was crying out for help, but no one knew. He hid it all.”
Alex had always been the older brother with the big laugh and big heart. But after moving to Florida years ago, things started to change. He returned home briefly in 2024, and what his mom witnessed alarmed her—anger, paranoia, and heavy drinking.
“We thought it was just the alcohol,” she said. “We had no idea he was battling something so much deeper.”
By the time he moved in with his aunt and cousins later that year, things had escalated. He was secretly using cocaine and nitrous oxide. But when he came home for Christmas, he seemed… okay. Happy, even.
“He hardly drank, he laughed, he was gentle with his brothers,” Skrbek remembered. “That was the old Alex.”
She filmed the boys joking around together during that visit. They were just being goofy brothers—but it’s the last memory she has of them all united.
@alli_mom He left behind 3 little brothes that he koved with all his heart. #depressionanxiety #depression #suicideawareness #suicidepreventionawarenes #suicide #lossofachild #childloss ♬ Dancing in the Sky – Sam Barber
On March 30, Alex texted: “I’m so thankful I have you. I love you mom.” The next day, he shot himself.
His body was found on April 1.
Skrbek now knows what she couldn’t see then. Through his phone, she found dark notes—drafts of unsent messages, anger, despair, and signs of serious emotional pain. Her son had been spiraling, and no one knew.
“There were signs, but we didn’t see them for what they really were,” she said. “He hid it behind a smile.”
Now, Skrbek is turning her heartbreak into action. Through her TikTok account (@alli_mom), she’s sharing Alex’s story to bring awareness to the invisible battle too many people fight alone.
Her video showing Alex and his brothers playing has now been seen over 12 million times. But for her, it’s both comforting and devastating.
“It warms my heart and breaks it at the same time,” she said. “If I had known it was the last time I’d hug my son…”
She now faces the uphill battle of helping her other three boys—ages 13, 8, and not even 2—cope with the enormous loss of their big brother. One cries, one lashes out, one goes silent. “It’s like a part of us is missing,” she says.
Mental illness affects over 22 million Americans every year. Yet over 28 million adults still go without treatment.
“People think suicide is a choice,” Skrbek said, “but it’s not. My son wasn’t choosing to die. He just wanted the pain to stop.”
She hopes Alex’s story can be a wake-up call: “If someone you love is struggling—even a little—don’t wait. Get them help. Life is fragile.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.
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