Spiritual types might use the phrase, “There but for the grace of God go I.” It simply means, don’t look down on someone else because you could just as easily be in his or her position. It’s a message parents of kids with addiction issues want to get out to other parents.
It’s easy to see drug addiction as something that happens to someone else. Parents often do not recognize a drug issue, until it’s too late. It doesn’t help that we have inaccurate ideas about what a child who is at risk for drug abuse looks like. If a kid is involved in sports or gets good grades or comes from a “good” home, we want to believe they are immune. But drugs don’t discriminate.
One mother, Rachele Morelli, is adamant about warning other parents. “Don't say ‘this can't happen to my kid;’ It can happen to anybody,” she insists. She would know. Her son, Jonathan Morelli, was 18 when he died in February 2013, just a few months shy of his high school graduation.
“My son was very athletic, very smart, very intelligent, did well in school,” Morelli told CNN. That didn’t save him from dying of a heroin overdose. Morelli said her son had struggled with the drug for years, first becoming addicted to prescription painkillers after having surgery as a freshman.
It was hard for this mother to watch her son suffer through painful withdrawal symptoms as he fought his disease, but she was hopeful he could overcome his addiction. Sometime after September 2012, he started using again. Morelli didn't know until he died, CCN reports.
Schools across all economic lines are seeing drug epidemics among their students. It’s happening in poor areas and the most affluent neighborhoods. School officials and local law enforcement are doing what they can to stem the tide. In the meantime, moms like Morelli continue to speak out, trying to break down stereotypes of just who is at risk. No one is immune.
If you or someone you love needs treatment for drug abuse, call The Canyon at the toll-free number on our homepage. We are here to take your call 24 hours a day, and we can answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.
