Grieving Overdose Death

Jillian was a "very wanted baby" who was a good student and could make anyone laugh, according to her mom, Jackie. As she got older, she became depressed and suffered from anxiety, and turned to alcohol and marijuana. In later years, she joined a gang and was introduced to methamphetamines. She tried to become sober but her addiction was terminal until her death at age 21 in February 2022. Jackie...

Kristina was a straight "A" student who loved cheerleading, dancing and gymnastics. Life was wonderful with her parents and older sister, Michelle, until she turned 15 and was introduced to heroin by her boyfriend. From that time, her life was a struggle to stay clean. Everything seemed to be going well in January 2022, when she had a relapse. When called to her parent's home, Michelle describes h...

Jason loved learning and was a joy to be around. He dreamt of being a pilot and set out on his life's journey. However, during his first college semester, he broke his elbow, was placed on pain medication and everything changed. He dropped out of college and spent many years in the throes of addiction. His mom, Dianne, dreaded getting "the call" and on July 1st, 2019, that day came when she found...

Samantha Ruth is not only a psychologist who helps those dealing with their grief, she also knows loss firsthand after her husband died unexpectedly. Her mission is to change the way the world views both grief and mental health, so people can openly speak about whatever issues they have and get the help they need without fear of judgment, labels, and repercussions. She talks with "Grieving Overdos...

From an early age, Miranda loved animals. At any given time, she had as many as three cats, three dogs, five chickens, a parakeet, a horse, as well as fish and rodents. She went on to become a certified pet care technician at age 11, and a wrangler at 16. Even in these happy times, Miranda suffered from mental illness and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She earned a bachelor's degree in...

At 35, Noel was on a great path after being clean for a long time. He was in an accelerated nursing program, was a daddy to a beautiful daughter, and had everything to live for. But then COVID-19 hit, and his mom, Kathleen, feels that it had a lot to do with his relapse since he was alone and studying virtually. Isolation is not good for anyone suffering from this disease and so many more people a...

Mary Kate loved the '60s: the colorful clothes, the message of peace & love, and the rock music like Pink Floyd. Her mom, Carol, said her daughter was born in the wrong decade. Everything changed when Mary Kate started losing weight and her parents found out that she had been using drugs. They were able to check Mary Kate into rehab, where she was sober for 15 months before she was found passed aw...

When Melody was born, she was named for peace, love and harmony. She lit up a room with her smile and was hilarious without ever knowing she was funny. All that changed after she tried heroin and addiction took over her life. Her mom, Toni, remembers how super close they were through her teenage years and beyond. Tragically, this vibrant, beautiful young woman died at 31 in November 2019, six mont...

Joanne remembers everyone liking her brother Johnny. He had the happiest and loudest laugh, and the biggest and best hugs. He was great at soccer, and track & field, and won many awards. They hung out together since they were close in age and were referred to as the favorite brother/sister combination. But all that changed when Johnny succumbed to mental illness and addiction for most of his adult...

Suzanne's son, Johnny, suffered from addiction until she got the knock on her door she was dreading and was told the news she never wanted to hear. Her son had died from an overdose at the age of 46. Johnny's younger years were hopeful when he was studying to be a medical doctor, but he succumbed to mental illness and addiction for most of his adult life. When Suzanne thinks of her son no longer o...

Elaine was a world traveler who had a passion for cooking, and loved all types of music from rock 'n roll to reggae. She had her daughter, Stephanie, later in life at age 38, and they shared a very close relationship. However, Elaine was addicted to alcohol as far back as Stephanie can remember. A few months ago, the day came that Stephanie dreaded for so long when her mom passed away from her add...

Quincie loved hunting and riding his motorcycle; loved his children, family and friends; and was a really good cook. But he also put his family through 10 years of heartache and pain as his addiction grew from marijuana to heroin. He passed away at the age of 31 from an accidental overdose while living in a halfway house. His mother, Jennifer, is coping with her son's death through activism. She p...

Maddy was a young woman of extremes—a soft, kind and gentle heart with a powerful, fierce and stubborn mind. She never quite understood the word, "No", subsequently she could always open your mind to try and see things her way. She excelled at school, winning a partial scholarship to a university where she planned on being a lawyer. However, from an early age she fought against a smothering intern...

Mayson was a free spirit who was passionate about music and cooking. He was a self-taught guitar player at nine-years-old, and also learned the piano, trumpet and French horn. Even though he had a close relationship with his mother, Amanda, and his family, he had a troubled youth and was expelled from multiple schools mainly for drug use. At 22, he was living on his own, working and appeared to be...

Kevin tried for years to free himself from his addiction but lost the battle at 41 years old in January 2019. His sister, Sherry, talks about how they stuck together like glue after suffering from abuse during their childhood. Sherry says that Kevin protected her even though he was only five years old. When Kevin felt they were finally safe, he numbed his pain from the abuse with marijuana which e...

Jackie was expecting to celebrate her son Jackson's 20th birthday on January 11th but instead she was called to the hospital where Jackson passed away from an accidental overdose. Jackson was an amazing kid and a gifted athlete at 6'4" and 220 lbs. He wrestled and played football throughout high school. He also loved video games, cooking, crafting, fishing and hunting. Jackie cherishes her relatio...

Carol knew her son, Penn, had issues with alcohol but never imagined he had started using other substances until he passed away from an overdose in 2017. Penn grew up in a typical household in which he was an active member of the scouts, went camping with his family, and attended church. However, he was prone to panic attack and anxiety while in high school, and felt he had depression. He attended...

Annie feels like she is aimlessly just making it from one day to another after her son Josh died in January 2019 when he was 33.  Ten years ago after a car accident, Josh left the emergency room with a 30 day supply of Vicodin with refills. Annie says it took only a few pills for Josh to become addicted.  She describes how she went through hell during Josh's active addiction, the ups the downs, th...

Joseph's ambitions of working as an airplane mechanic were cut short after a car accident landed him in surgery where he was given pain medication. When his pain medicine prescription ran out, he searched out relief illegally. His mother, Jean, never suspected that her son had become addicted until he confessed and asked for help. It was a journey that ended when he passed away a few years later a...

Caitlin, 22, tried to brace herself for her dad's (Sean) death since she knew of his addiction, but when her mom told her that her dad had died from an accidental overdose, her heart broke. Sean, 57, will never walk her down the aisle or hold his grandchildren. Caitlin has found solace by attending GRASP meetings http://grasphelp.org/m/ and talking about her dad with others to keep his memory aliv...

In her mom Stephanie's words, Jade was born defying convention. She lived life as an unapologetic original; and was a fiercely loyal friend and champion of her fellow woman. She loved books and detested anything that was ordinary. She was a devotee of glamour and glitter but her thousand watt smile was never outshone. Jade was 26 when she was found by her roommate after an accidental overdose leav...

Allison told her mom, Leah, that she started using meth to help her keep up with three children, a job and everything else in her life. But then it got out of control and her mom, Leah, feels that Allison was high when she got into an accident that ended her life while driving a four-wheeler. Leah says she is in the "anger" stage and going through trauma counseling to deal with the death of her da...

Throughout her addiction, Jillian wrote extensively about how she just wanted to be herself again. In a letter written in the last month of her life entitled "Who Am I", she wanted to use her skills as a cosmetologist to help people like themselves—a feeling that eluded her. Annmarie talks about the struggles her daughter faced during the 15 years in her addiction before she died of an accidently...

Catherine graduated high school at the top of her class in 2011 and, only six years later in 2017, her life was taken by an accidental overdose. She was a beautiful, intelligent, absolutely brilliant, complex human, according to her mother, Rose. Rose said she wants to share Catherine's story and spread awareness on what can be done to prevent death in case of overdose so her daughter's death is n...

Steven relapsed after 18 years of sobriety after he was prescribed pain medication for lymphoma. He traveled from Oregon to Arizona for help, and to eventually move his family. He got the help he needed and was sober for 63 days. Unfortunately, he decided to use one last time and was found by police passed away sitting underneath a tree. Melissa who was married to Steven for 19 years says she is c...