This story is all too common today. A young person gets hooked on dope and ODs. The family is aware of the struggle and does all it can for the addict. And sometimes the addiction wins.
This grieving family posts an obituary. Then in the end they say for people not to stereotype addicts while stereotyping people who have to deal with addicts and their aftermath.
I'm sure compassion goes a long way in helping someone overcome addiction. I realize that a lot of people who are close to addicts make excuses for them and prevent them from facing the realization of how they are destroying themselves and those around them. To the enablers I say enough is enough. Let the user pay the price and suffer the consequences. Some times this is the compassionate choice. Too much carrot is just as bad as too much stick.
I'd be curious on other's take on this obituary. TIA
the full obit
This grieving family posts an obituary. Then in the end they say for people not to stereotype addicts while stereotyping people who have to deal with addicts and their aftermath.
I'm sure compassion goes a long way in helping someone overcome addiction. I realize that a lot of people who are close to addicts make excuses for them and prevent them from facing the realization of how they are destroying themselves and those around them. To the enablers I say enough is enough. Let the user pay the price and suffer the consequences. Some times this is the compassionate choice. Too much carrot is just as bad as too much stick.
I'd be curious on other's take on this obituary. TIA
[FONT="]Our beloved Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir died on Sunday, October 7. While her death was unexpected, Madelyn suffered from drug addiction, and for years we feared her addiction would claim her life.
[/FONT][FONT="]It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, and especially someone whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction. To some, Maddie was just a junkie — when they saw her addiction, they stopped seeing [/FONT]her. And what a loss for them.
[FONT="]Maddie loved her family and the world. But more than anyone else, she loved her son, Ayden, who was born in 2014. She transformed her life to mother him.
[/FONT][FONT="]After having Ayden, Maddie tried harder and more relentlessly to stay sober than we have ever seen anyone try at anything. But she relapsed and ultimately lost custody of her son, a loss that was unbearable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]During the past two years especially, her disease brought her to places of incredible darkness, and this darkness compounded on itself, as each unspeakable thing that happened to her and each horrible thing she did in the name of her disease exponentially increased her pain and shame.
[/FONT][FONT="]If you are reading this with judgment, educate yourself about this disease, because that is what it is. It is not a choice or a weakness. And chances are very good that someone you know is struggling with it, and that person needs and deserves your empathy and support.[/FONT]
[FONT="]If you work in one of the many institutions through which addicts often pass — rehabs, hospitals, jails, courts — and treat them with the compassion and respect they deserve, thank you. If instead you see a junkie or thief or liar in front of you rather than a human being in need of help, consider a new profession.[/FONT]
the full obit