America has reached an epidemic in opioid addiction, as lives young and old are plagued by its gruesome hold.
Lives have been ripped apart with a substance so small in size, making giant chasms between loved ones.
For one woman the divide was too great, leaving her family mourning a daughter, friend, and mother.
The Independent reports:
“Madelyn Linsenmeir was aged just 30 when she passed away earlier this month after suffering from opioid addiction”
The terrible news comes at a time when the country is seeing these tragedies more than one can bear, with 72,000 Americans dying every year from a drug overdose.
Linsenmeir not only left behind her parents, according to the Independent, but a sister, partner, and a toddler son named Ayden.
It is unfathomable to lose a child, no matter the age. And, for a young toddler to never get to know their mother is heartbreaking.
The grieving family wants the world to know the amazing person behind the addiction, so in her obituary, that has now gone viral, they reveal her more admiring qualities.
Seven Days reports:
“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 her. And what a loss for them. Because Maddie was hilarious, and warm, and fearless, and resilient. She could and would talk to anyone, and when you were in her company you wanted to stay.”
Further down in the obituary, the family explains how the kid from Burlington, Vermont first came into contact with a drug that would eventually consume her.
When Linsenmeir was 16 years old, she moved with her family from Vermont to Florida where she attended a performing arts high school.
Being an impressionable teenager at a new school, amidst a major move, has its challenges. The young girl went to a party with her new acquaintances where she had her first taste of an opioid in the form of the prescription painkiller OxyContin.
Many individuals begin their dark journeys into addiction in a similar way, never meaning to let the highly addictive drug creep into every nook and cranny of their lives.
It is no secret that our nation is struggling. The media has aided in allowing the growing epidemic to gain widespread attention, reaching all the way up to the Oval Office.
President Trump has vowed to fight in the war against opioid addiction, and has made good on his word.
He brought attention to the issue through public addresses, and signed two pieces of legislation that give aide to eradicate the problem.
In 2016, the INTERDICT Act was signed by Trump, giving Homeland Security resources to halt drug supplies from coming on U.S. soil, such as the huge shipments of fentanyl coming in from China.
Apart from declaring the opioid crisis a national Public Health Emergency under federal law, he just signed this past October the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
The SUPPORT Act is aimed at “advancing treatment and recovery initiatives” for opioids and addicts, according to House.gov.
New Hampshire is the leading state in deaths per capita from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, according to the Boston Globe.
While in Manchester, President Trump said to an audience all too familiar with the opioid problem:
“Failure is not an option. Addiction is not our future. We will not rest until the end, and I will tell you that this scourge of drug addiction will stop. It will stop.”
The Center for Disease Control reports that the 72,000 people killed by opioids last year is a 10 percent increase from 2016.
These statistics convert to about 200 deaths a day, which supersedes motor vehicle and gun deaths, according to the Independent.
There was such promise with the young Linsenmeir, her family saying that she was a “born performer and had a singing voice so beautiful it would stop people on the street”, according to the Independent.
Efforts were valiant by Linsenmeir, especially after having her son Ayden, but a relapse caused her to lose custody of her son.
This act put her in a spiral that was never able to stop. With every bad choice made, the guilt and shame added another weight she couldn’t get out from under.
In a sad close to Maddie’s last address, the family added:
“..her addiction stalked her and stole her once again. Though we would have paid any ransom to have her back, any price in the world, this disease would not let her go until she was gone.”
A memorial is taking place this month at First Unitarian Universalist Society in Burlington. The family is requesting donations to the Turning Point Centre, instead of flowers, to help others struggling with addiction find hope.
Addiction strikes communities and families while it eats away at the individual struggling with it.
If you or someone you know is facing an addiction to opioids, or any other substance, don’t wait to seek help, because then it may be too late.
While the President and his administration do what they can to crack down on drugs in the streets, individuals still need to take responsibility for it in their homes.
Let’s hope this new year brings the hope and fulfilled promises needed to stop the senseless death of another young mother.
Please let us know in the comments section what you think a good solution to the opioid crises is.