A mother publishes a photo of her son holding who died of an overdose

A mother shared a heart-rending picture of her son's last death after a drug overdose death.

Nora Sheehan, 56, lost her 29-year-old son, Andrew Jugler, after taking a deadly preparation of xylazine and fentanyl after eight years of fighting addiction.

After her death in October, Ms. Sheehan posted a photo of herself next to her son for the last time to raise public awareness of the opioid crisis that paralyzes America.

After her death in October, Ms. Sheehan posted a photo of herself next to her son for the last time to raise public awareness of the opioid crisis that paralyzes America.

She said, "Holding my son dead in my arms, here is the picture of addiction … that's what's happening."

Ms. Sheehan, of Rehoboth Beach, in Delaware, said that her son's addiction began after he had started taking an oxycontin pain reliever in 2010, but then progressively progressed to heroin and heroin. fentanyl.

The administrative coordinator feared for her son when he joined a group of people living in the woods in Elkton, Maryland, last summer at the height of his addiction.

She and her two sisters, Candace Jugler, 38, and Haley Jugler, 30, have attempted to enroll in a rehabilitation program, but have failed.

Andrew, 29, brother Candace, 38, and Haley Jugler, 30 (from left to right). They tried to register their brother in a rehab center, but he soon relapsed.

Andrew and his mother Nora Sheehan in happier moments, before he is handicapped by addiction

She said, "When he got into the woods, I asked him if I could buy him a new tent or a new sleeping bag, but he refused. I begged him to go home.

"In September, while I was trying to drive Andrew to a rehab center, he opened the door while my car was traveling at 100 km / h, as if to throw himself outside.

"I stopped the car and started shouting. I asked him at that moment where he wanted to be buried.

The 29-year-old woman died on October 7, but it took Nora two days to identify her son's body.

Ms. Sheehan said, "I could not cry until I saw it. Until then, I had kept hope.

Andrew Jugler (left, at happier times and right, while battling addiction) died of a lethal dose of xylazine and fentanyl

"They told me to prepare the smell in the room because his body had been out for a while in hot weather.

"It was the furthest thing from my mind. I wanted to take him in my arms and hug him one last time.

Andrew was incredibly kind and attentive. He was a self-proclaimed mechanic and so loved by all of us, his sisters, his niece and his father-in-law.

Instead of a traditional funeral service, Nora and her family organized a memorial service on her behalf and invited Andrew's friends, who were struggling with homelessness and addiction.

She added, "I hope that sharing this image will have an impact on drug addicts, but I especially hope that we will stop walking blindly.

"I never thought that heroin and fentanyl were as prevalent in my community as they are." It's an epidemic.