Tomorrow my niece will greet friends and family at the funeral home with a broken heart and a brave face following the death of her only child days before. He died of a heroin overdose at 26 years old, and, the baby boy he was so proud of will not grow up with the father who loved him. I was at the hospital the afternoon the decision was made to remove his life support, and the finality of that took away all hope, even though it was inevitable.

The obituary in the paper just above his, details the death of a  20 year old, who also died of an overdose, and Ive since learned of three others, all in one week. There is a purveyor of death nearby, and if that person can be found and proven responsible for selling the stuff, the charges should include homicide. Apparently easy to find and affordable, it is becoming a frightening epidemic in our area. I pray that the loss of these young lives will stir an awareness in people.

Tomorrow there will be kind words and condolences from those who genuinely loved him, and that will be some comfort to my niece – but the loss of her son will be with her forever. It shouldn’t have happened.