HOUSTON – Harris County Executive Administrator Lina Hidalgo announced that she will be on leave for the next month because she has been suffering from “clinical depression,” which she was diagnosed with last July.
“On the recommendation of my doctor, I received treatment at an institution outside the state of Texas at the end of July,” Hidalgo wrote in a public communication issued by his office.
Administrator Hidalgo emphasized that she is part of the 21 million people who suffer from this condition in the US.
“For this reason I will be absent while I receive medical treatment,” added Hidalgo, who earlier this year requested a leave of absence after the death of his grandfather in Colombia.
It is an initiative promoted by the city in various areas of Houston.
“Along with my medical team we hope that I will be available to resume my duties (as executive administrator of Harris County in early September,” Hidalgo added.
“My experience has been difficult, but I take it as an opportunity to make my problem known, my struggle and to motivate others, who need help, to seek (medical) treatment,” said the Harris County administrator, who will be replaced as president of the Court of Commissioners by Rodney Ellis, who is the most senior member of the collegiate body and who – according to the rules of the entity – is the one who must do it.
Hidalgo said that he will be available in the event of an emergency in the County and added that the team of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is fully ready to respond to any situation. It should be noted that next week the peak of the hurricane season begins, which lasts until mid-September.
Finally, he stated that the day-to-day administrative functions of his office will be led by his chief of staff, Jesse Dickerman.
One of the first to react to the news was Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who said that she is part of the “30% of adults who suffer from depression or anxiety” and that he hopes that an experience like this “will be a teaching that encourage others who have the same problems to seek help.
