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There were 12 unforgettable days.
Twelve days at home with his relatives. Twelve days watching children's movies and chatting around the table. Twelve days that Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir remained generally sober after a long relationship of several years with opioids. Twelve days that gave them all hope.
"We believed, as we have always done, that she would overcome her illness and make life for herself, we knew she deserved it," wrote one family member. "We believed this until the moment she took her last breath.
"But her addiction followed and stole her again.While we would have paid the ransom to get her back, no matter what price in the world, this sickness would not leave her leave as long as she would not be gone. "
The details come from a heartbreaking obituary that a member of Linsenmeir's family apparently wrote earlier this week, paving the way for a devastating drop in the 30-year dependency. Linsenmeir, of Burlington, Vermont, died Oct. 7 while she was at home with her family – but that's the raw and moving way that the obituary describes the circumstances that led to her death echoed in others.
"Madelyn was suffering from addictions and for years we feared that her addiction would claim her life," said Obit. "We are grateful that when she died, she was safe and that she was with her family."
According to Linsenmeir's obituary, family members wanted to tell his story so that those who suffer from addiction know that "every breath is a new beginning" and to encourage those "who read this with judgment" to understand that "this Is not a choice ". or a weakness. "
The story describes a young woman who enjoyed swimming, skiing and snowboarding. She said that she had "such a beautiful voice that she would stop people on the street" – a voice that took her around the world – and at 16, she and her parents were moved from Vermont to Florida to attend a school art show.
It was there, however, his life began to collapse.
The obituary stated that Linsenmeir had tried OxyContin during an evening in high school, thus creating "a relationship with opiates that would dominate the rest of his life".
"It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, especially a person whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction," we read. "For some, Maddie was just a junkie – when they saw her addiction, they stopped seeing her, and what a waste for them, because Maddie was hilarious, warm and fearless, and resilient." She could and wanted to talk to everyone, when you were in his company you wanted to stay.
"In a system that seems to be hardened against drug addicts and fails every day, she's bonded with friends and delighted cops, social workers, public advocates and doctors." , who defended her until the end She was adored as a daughter, sister, niece, cousin, friend and mother, and to be loved by Madelyn was an endlessly amazing gift. "
The Washington Post could not immediately join the family.
After the publication of Linsenmeir's obituary, which caught the attention of the media, a police chief in his city said he had "a problem".
"My problem is that his obituary is much better than the one we deserve," Burlington police chief Brandon del Pozo said on Facebook on Wednesday, according to the Burlington Free Press.
"Why did it take a bereaved parent with a good literary sense to draw people's attention and shed a tear when nearly a quarter of a million people have already died from the same way as Maddie while the epidemic was developing? "
Del Pozo said that many others, like Linsenmeir, had died as a result of opioid addiction.
"Maddie is gone, she can not feel your grief," he writes. "But others are next door, some are not beautiful, others are not alike, some are like Maddie 's twin and also have young children. they need our help Go Go to work We still need to gain the feelings that his obituary inspired us We should have felt them years ago. "
Opioids, including fentanyl, heroin, and other painkillers, are the leading sources of overdose deaths in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of opioid deaths has continued to increase, with more than 42,000 deaths reported across the country in 2016, according to the latest figures released by the agency.
In Vermont, opioid-related deaths increased by 5% between 2016 and 2017. Specifically, fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, caused 67 deaths in the state, compared to 49 the previous year, according to data from the Vermont Department of Health.
According to Linsenmeir's obituary, Linsenmeir began to change her life when her son was born in 2014, because she wanted to be a good mother.
"Maddie is striving to stay sober and more relentless than ever before," said Obituary. But finally, Linsenmeir relapsed and lost custody – an "unbearable" loss for the young mother.
"Over the last two years in particular, her illness has brought her into places of incredible darkness, and this darkness has worsened by herself, as each unspeakable thing that was happening to her and every horrible thing she was committing in the name of her illness was increasing her pain and shame, "he said.
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