Yesterday, after work, I stopped by my local grocery store. I ran into a lady that I had known, but not really kept up with, for years. Our sons had grown up together and been close-my sons were either at her house, or her son and daughters were at mine. They had all grown and gone from home, for many years, in fact, mine moved a distance away. Back at the beginning of the new year, one of my sons called me and told me that "Mary" (the oldest daughter) had died recently, but they weren't sure of any specifics. I looked at online obits, and sure enough, Mary had passed at 24 years old, leaving behind a daughter, her brother and sister, and her devastated parents (who now have custody of her daughter).
As I spoke with mom in the store, she told me the story of meth use prior to the baby, with a boyfriend. The boyfriend was well known and has a very troubling past, including drug use. After the baby, they split up because he said being a dad and committed boyfriend was too confining. But he continued to supply her with drugs. Her last night of life he supplied her with heroine with fentanyl. She passed and someone had tried to used narcan on her. But instead of calling 911, the other party-ers decided to clean up all the evidence of drug use and leave her to sleep it off. She never woke up. At autopsy, according to mom, 8 times times the lethal dose of fentanyl was found in her system. Ex boyfriend showed up to funeral so high he couldn't stand on his own.
Mom told me that she had tried to get Mary help repeatedly, but Mary denied use, of course. She was 24 and could take care of herself!, etc, every story that we've all ever heard. Mom found out that she had narcan on 26 separate occasions in last 6 months. Miom tried to have her arrested for drug possession, called CPS for putting the baby in danger, anything to get her off the street and hopefully quit using No one would help.
Why am I angry? Mary was a beautiful young lady with a smile that would melt the devil's heart. She was smart, sweet, and intelligent. She had a bright future, if only she had reached out for it. Now she's left an orphan behind. Her family is devastated. Her friends that remember the beautiful young lady are filled with grief.
Where is it going to stop? This is rhetorical, as there is no clear cut answer. But today, I want to go to my rooftop and scream outrage for a beautiful young lady who died by her own hand.
I do want to add, that I am grateful. My youngest son is a recovering addict. I know on any given day, he could start using again, or be a statistic like Mary.
