Her parents, Brian and Bridget Farrell, released aFacebook videoabout her death that has since gone viral.
I remember walking for miles in a dope fiend haze.
I remember sleeping in houses that had no electric.
Facebook/Michele Rimel
I remember being called a junkie, but I couldn’t accept it.
I remember hanging out in abandos that were empty and dark.
I remember shooting up in the bathroom and falling out at the park.
I remember nodding out in front of my sisters kid.
I remember not remembering half of the things that I did.
I remember the dope man’s time frame, just ten more minutes.
I remember those days being so sick that I just wanted to end it.
I remember the birthdays and holiday celebrations.
All the things I missed during my incarceration.
I remember overdosing on my bedroom floor.
I remember my sisters cry and my dad having to break down the door.
I remember blaming myself when my mom decided to leave.
I remember the guilt I felt in my chest making it hard to breathe.
I remember caring so much but not knowing how to show it.
and I know to this day that she probably don’t even know it.
I remember feeling like I lost all hope.
I remember giving up my body for the next bag of dope.
I remember only causing pain, destruction and harm.
I remember the track marks the needles left on my arm.
I remember watching the slow break up of my home.
I remember thinking my family would be better off if I just left them alone.
I remember looking in the mirror at my sickly completion.
I remember not recognizing myself in my own Damn reflection.
That is why addiction is a disease and not a behavioral issue.
Shawn A. Ryan, M.D., chief medical officer at Ohio-based addiction treatment centerBrightView Health, agrees.
The dependence is physical and psychological, she says, making it an especially hard habit to kick.
We have empathy for every other disease, Dr. Ryan points out.
This absolutely fits the definition of a disease."
Its possible for someone to break an addiction to heroin, Dr. Ryan says, but its not easy.
But, with ongoing treatment and solid social support, it’s possible for former addicts to stay clean.
See the family’s Facebook video below.
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