Overdose: It Can Happen To Anyone, At Any Age

An overdose can happen to anyone, at any age. Not only does an overdose affect the life of the person who chose to put the drugs into their system, but it affects the lives of everyone that they know, or even knew. It’s a selfish death that can leave a child parentless, it can leave a parent childless, it can take aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, best friends, grandparents, and anyone in between. I know that I am guilty of scaring the life out of my loved ones a few times in my past. I think the worst was a Fentanyl overdose that literally killed me and I had to be resuscitated. I also had a heart attack, literally, during that overdose. 

I know one too many people that have had their lives cut short because of either drugs, alcohol, or both. I had an ex-girlfriend named Julia, who also went by the nickname China (pronounced Chee-na), whose liver failed from alcohol abuse, and she left three children behind. I wish I would have gotten a chance to say goodbye to her, but I never did. She and I ended on bad terms, and then I had gotten into a relationship with my ex-husband, China said she wanted nothing to do with me and I let her walk away.

I lost my aunt not too long ago to an alcohol-related heart attack. Which is something that I had blogged about back in June when she passed away. (You can read that HERE) I also had a guy that I knew who opened his own home health aid company that I briefly worked for that died because he overdoses on opiate pain medication. I had to stop working for him because he died. The list could go on and on.

Today, even though I, myself, was not close to him, know someone that died from a drug overdose, and as of right now we have no idea what drugs he actually took. Only the coroner’s report will be able to tell that. This guy that overdosed, Wade, is the father of my best friends three oldest children. I grew up hanging out with him and my best friend. He may have been an asshole, but he loved his children. And now because of his stupid decision, his children are fatherless. Children should not have to worry about losing a parent until they are older. 

Wade’s oldest son just started high school. His children, my best friends children, happen to be my God kids. I’m hurting for them because I know that they are heartbroken right now. I know that my best friend is heartbroken right now. He and my friend may not be in a relationship any longer, but they still dated for a very long time and he is the father of three of her children. So, it is completely understandable that my friend is heartbroken. She was at my house when she got that devastating phone call that Wade had passed away. I cannot forget the look on her face. The pure hurt, shock, and sadness. It broke my heart.

My best friend (I keep saying ‘best friend’ and ‘friend’ instead of using her name in case she wants her privacy. This is her time to grieve. Not mine.) was at my house when she got that devastating phone call that Wade had passed away. I cannot forget the look on her face. The pure hurt, shock, and sadness. It broke my heart. I didn’t know what to say to her. What does one say under these circumstances? I actually cried when she went upstairs to use the bathroom. I couldn’t help it. I know I wasn’t close to him, but like I mentioned earlier, I used to hang out with him and my friend all the time, and he was the father to my God kids… I’m bound to feel some kind of emotions. I am in utter shock still. I want to bring Wade back, just to kill him again for overdosing and putting his kids and my friend through this crap.

I can’t help but to keep thinking about all the people I know that have died from drugs and alcohol, and about how many times that I, myself, almost died from a D&A overdose. It makes me wonder why I did the things that I did. Part of me didn’t care what happened, and that’s pretty bad.

People who have kids really need to think hard about the decisions that they make. Before a parent picks up a drug, they should think about what would happen to their child or children if that drug were to accidentally kill them. Even drugs that someone uses frequently could one day be the thing that ends their life. Nothing is guaranteed. Children need their parents more than anything else. Wade was being really selfish, and now his kids have to pay for what he thought was going to be a good time. Yeah, it turned out to be a really good time, huh?

If you’re a parent, and you happen to come across this blog post, and you’re thinking about using… just try to imagine the look on your child’s face when someone has to tell them that you are gone. Or even worse, imagine the look on their face if they are the one to find you. Your child will never, ever be the same again.