A woman who wrote an obituary for an addict sister expresses

The moving obituary of a Vermont woman has made its way onto the Internet, prompting social media users around the world to reflect on the painful struggle of addiction. But the woman's sister says the attention is bittersweet as the family continues to face this heartbreaking loss.

Madelyn Linsenmeir, 30, struggled for more than a decade against opioid addiction before suddenly dying on October 7th in the custody of the Massachusetts police. Following her death, Linsenmeir's older sister, Kate O'Neill, knew she wanted to write an obituary that would tell the story of her baby sister's life, the illness that stole her, and the love left by her. the family that Linsenmeir had left behind.

"Her illness was so much a part of her adult life, and to omit that it would not have done justice to her life," O'Neill, 46, told PEOPLE of why she had put forward opioid addiction of his sister.

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"We had hoped until the time of her death that she would recover and make a living." We loved Maddie so much. This disease is causing people and Madelyn to fall. The photos of her online with her son, it was our Maddie at its best. We have never abandoned it. She was so important to us, "says O'Neill.

Linsenmeir started taking opioids at the age of 16, O'Neill wrote in his sister's obituary. She tried OxyContin for the first time at a high school party after her family left Vermont for Florida and "thus begins a relationship with opiates that will dominate the rest of her life."

O'Neill says that Linsenmeir was homeless and was arrested in Massachusetts less than a week before his death. O'Neill and their mother were with Linsenmeir when she died in a hospital. O'Neill says that Linsenmeir was unconscious in the last days of his life. She has not taken an overdose and an autopsy will determine the exact cause of her death.

"It was terrifying and amazing," says O'Neill about his last moments with his sister. "It was unreal and so hard to let her go because we had believed until she took her last breath that she would heal."

Linsenmeir has struggled with sobriety several times over the years and, with the birth of her son Ayden in 2014, she worked even harder to transform her life.

"She loved him so much and he loved her. Maddie really liked music and Ayden really loves music. We did everything in our power to help him be his parent, "says O'Neill. "She was extremely voluntary, but this disease was stronger. She would have done anything in the world for her son but that's the only thing she could not do. She tried so hard to stay clean after having had it.

Linsenmeir lost custody of Ayden after a relapse. Her sister Maura O'Neill, 44, has been raising the four-year-old girl with her partner Tim Painting for two years.

Madelyn Linsenmeir (right) with Father Mark Linsenmeir

Courtesy of Maura O'Neill

"I have a million favorite things on Maddie. I loved her incredible sense of humor, "O'Neill says. "When she did not use, it was a pleasure to spend time with her. Even if she was not my sister, I would like to know her and be friends with her. "

Now, O'Neill says she hopes her sister's story will inspire change.

"The hundreds of thousands of people with this disease do not look like Maddie for the most part. Many do not do it. It's easy to see the picture of a beautiful young white woman and feel empathy, "she says. "But this disease affects many people. When they see the person, it is more difficult to feel empathy for him, the guy who sleeps on the sidewalk … I want them to see these people and see Maddie. It's Maddie.