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People stopped seeing Madelyn Linsenmeir when opiates seized him and kept him in the fog for most of his adult life. His sister wrote in an eloquent and moving obituary that draws on the heart of America.
Kate O'Neill wrote on Instagram about her 30-year-old sister, who died suddenly on Sunday, October 7th.
"He is 30 years old and has a voice that sings so beautiful that people stop on the street to listen," continued O. Neill. "He has a son, two sisters, a mother and a father, his name is Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir, that's what the opioid epidemic looks like."
According to preliminary estimates, there would have been more than 49,000 opioid-related deaths in 2017. A mother, an athlete and a "born interpreter", Maddie died of a staph infection that she contracted as a result of intravenous drug use, on Instagram.
O "Neill wrote that the term" opioid epidemic "was" used to the point of not making sense "and added that the answer to that question" did not have no more meaning. "
The obituary indicates that Maddie loved skiing and snowboarding, she swam in competition and visited different countries when she was part of a musical troupe. Born in Vermont, Maddie tried OxyContin for the first time at a high school party in Florida, where she and her parents moved to a high school specializing in the performing arts, says the obituary.
"It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, especially a person whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction," says the obituary. "For some, Maddie was only a junkie, when they saw her addiction, they stopped seeing her, and what a loss for them."
O'Neill described Maddie as someone who could talk to anyone and who was loved by his family. When her son, Ayden, was born in 2014, Maddie "turned his life into his mother" and "tried harder and more ruthlessly to stay sober than anyone else ever tried," according to the obituary.
She eventually lost custody of her son when she relapsed.
"In the last two years in particular, her illness has brought her to places of incredible darkness, and this darkness has worsened by her own shame," says obituary.
O 'Neill describes 12 days this summer where Maddie was at home and sober, at a time when her family thought they could conquer the disease.
"But his addiction followed and stole it again," says the obituary.
In the obituary, O 'Neill addressed those who suffer from addiction, assuring them that families affected by the disease believe that they can overcome this addiction.
"If you are reading this with judgment, find out about this disease because it is what it is," says Obituary. "This is not a choice or a weakness."
The tributes written in response to the obituary showed the impact of the words written by O'Neill in response to the obituary showed the impact that these words have had on people.
"Like many others on the tribute page, I want to express my condolences and congratulate you on your courage and the beauty of your testimony about your sister, daughter – a loved one", writes a woman named Pamela.
"I did not know Maddie, but as a mother of a former drug addict who is doing well right now, it was an incredible tribute," says an anonymous homage. "Thank you for helping to eliminate the stigma of this confusing disease, I am so sorry for your great loss."
On Twitter, Ivanka Trump, a White House advisor, wrote that she had "a deep admiration for the family members who wrote this crude, beautiful and devastating obituary".
A deep admiration for the family members who wrote this gross, beautiful and devastating obituary. A generous act in the midst of their pain and an awakening for all as we fight together, as a nation, opioid addiction; a crisis of epic proportions. Rest In Peace Maddie https://t.co/Q0kTrOfkMg
– Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 17, 2018
It was also shared by actress Alyssa Milano, New York Times columnist David Brooks and many others.
You can read the complete obituary here.
Patch could not immediately join the Linsenmeir family.
Photo of Renee Schiavone / Patch
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