FOX23 speaks with the mother of missing Broken Arrow man

TULSA, Okla. — Eugene Kozuk's mother, Barbara Donnelly, says she is still hanging onto hope after her son went missing on May 24.

"I loved him so much. I still love him so much. You know after five weeks and two days, I don't think with his medical problems he is still with us but I will take him any way, any way that God gives him back to me," said Donnelly.

Donnelly says Eugene has always been artistic and loved to be around people even as a child.

"He was in the gifted program and everything, excelled in school, was in the band and played baseball," said Donnelly.

She says when Eugene was in his late teens, he suffered from a traumatic brain injury but his spirit and zest for life never wavered.

"After the brain injury, he developed a mental illness although it took very long to get diagnosed, which is one of the very worst things in Oklahoma here is how bad it is for people with mental health problems," said Donnelly.

She says over the years he has been in and out of group homes but there was always a space for Eugene in her home.

Donnelly says she is thankful for those who volunteer their time to look for missing persons but it is a long process with lots of unknowns.

She says mental health resources and advocacy in Oklahoma need to improve.

"We have to do better. We have to do better for our mentally ill," said Donnelly.

Yet in the midst of grief and the days of not knowing, she is thinking of those who have shared the pain of having a missing family member.

Donnelly is hopeful by sharing their story that it can open the door to conversation around mental health.