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An obituary published in Vermont on October 14 tells the story of a long-standing struggle against opioid addiction in open and honest terms.
Since its publication, the obituary has become viral and has spread via social media and national media. He inspired donations to detox centers and speeches on a difficult subject for many people.
Madelyn Ellen Linsenmeir died Oct. 7 at age 30, after more than a decade of fighting addiction.
Linsenmeir did not die from an overdose, but from a severe staph infection resulting from injection drug use, according to a statement by her sister Maura O'Neill.
It all started in Florida.
Linsenmeir moved with his Vermont parents to Florida at the age of 16 to participate in a performing arts program at the Booker High School in Sarasota.
According to the obituary, she first tried Oxycontin at a party in high school.
Dependence dominated the rest of his life.
Opioid abuse is a persistent problem in Florida, where mortality rates reflect and sometimes exceed national trends.
The latest data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that there were 2,798 opioid-related overdose deaths in Florida in 2016; the state rate was higher than the national average.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a significant increase in the number of drug overdose deaths in Florida from 2014 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2016, opioids – both prescription and illegal – being the main factor.
The epidemic is one of the few cases of bipartisanship in Washington in recent years. Several bipartite laws on the opioid epidemic have been passed by Congress in recent weeks and are now awaiting the signature of the president.
One of them, the Centralized Opioid Act, sponsored by US Representative Vern Buchanan, of R-Longboat Key, would create a central source of information on how patients can use safely opioids to manage pain without developing addiction. Resources are currently dispersed among different government agencies.
Local governments also make resources available to those who have frequent contact with opioid addicts.
For example, last year, Bradenton police were trained to administer Narcan, an opioid antagonist that cancels an opioid overdose.
The Linsenmeir obituary advocates for compassion and understanding of people with addictions.
"For some, Maddie was only a junkie – when they saw her addiction, they stopped seeing her," reads one part of the obituary. "And what a loss for them. Because Maddie was hilarious, warm, fearless and resilient. She could and wanted to talk to anyone, and when you were in her 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 being loved by Madelyn was an ever-amazing gift. "
The author of the obituary was not listed, but an article published on October 17 on people.com revealed that it was written by Linsenmeir's older sister, Kate O'Neill.
O'Neill also had another message for readers.
"If you read this with discernment, find out about this disease because it is what it is. This is not a choice or a weakness. And there is a good chance that someone you know is struggling, and that person needs and deserves your empathy and support. "
Obituary aroused public reaction, including American Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the state with the second highest opioid death rate in the country, and the police chief of the city where it was published.
"I have a problem with this obituary," begins a Facebook post from Burlington, Vermont's chief of police, Brandon del Pozo.
"Why did it take a bereaved parent with a good literary sense to catch people's attention for a moment and shed a tear when nearly a quarter of a million people are already died in the same way as Maddie while the epidemic was developing?
"She died as my wife's cousin, Meredith, died in Bethesda, herself a young mother, but if Maddie was a black man from the Bronx found dead in his bathroom after an overdose, it did not matter that the Author of the obituary of the victim would have won the Booker Prize, there would be no crying article in People.
"Why not?" But there had been enough early and we acted quickly, humanly, and therefore, maybe Maddie would still be there. Make no mistake, no matter who you are or what you look like: Maddie's bell rings for someone close to you and maybe even someone you love Ask the cops and they'll tell you: Maddie's death is nothing special. all the time, to people no less loved and necessary and human. "
Current resources for people with opioid addiction include a national drug and alcohol addiction hotline, available at 1-800-662-HELP (4357), as well as online resources available from the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry this can help victims locate local help.
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