Our lives are forever changed. Samuel was smart, caring, and handsome. I could go on and on. He was always a great student. He played lacrosse. He came from a very loving family.
I miss my son all the time. I stop at the cemetery often, on my commute to work. I survive because of my faith and strong support of my friends and family. I still struggle every day because I miss my only son.
Though she can’t have Samuel back, Jacobs is now on a mission to use Samuel’s memory to help spare other families the pain hers has suffered. Let’s not ignore this grieving mom’s messages.
Here’s what she says she wishes she had known about heroin addiction treatment, and what she wants all other parents to know:
I wish I had known that addiction treatment takes a lot longer than just 30 days. I wish that my daughter didn’t have to find her little brother, who she loved dearly, dead from an overdose.
I’ve learned that there are a whole lot of lives lost every day to heroin. I’ve learned just how powerful heroin is and how very hard it is to get out of active addiction. I’ve learned that anyone could easily develop substance use disorder: addiction doesn’t discriminate.
I wish that people could get help for their addiction immediately. I wish that our government would do much more to help people.
I want to help others by telling my story. What helps me keep going is that I know it would hurt my son so much to see how his mom hurts every day. My life is forever changed and will never be the same. I’m a different person without Samuel. I’m a grandmother now, and I’m still a mom for my daughter.
I don’t have a choice: I have to keep going. I pray that this story helps others.
Fellow parents, let’s not let Samuel’s death, or Jacob’s words — be in vain. Let’s share her story to a) spread the word that we need BETTER treatment options for those in the throes of heroin addiction and opioid addiction and b) to END THE STIGMA against those struggling. These people in reality, are OUR children, husbands, wives, co-workers, brothers, sisters, and friends. And NONE of us is immune.
