july 25, 2015

“Stop worrying about what you have to lose and start focusing on what you have to gain.” ~ Unknown

You might recall that Stacy Yelton’s nephew, Ryan, died in January. It was a heroin overdose. It was his first time shooting. But it only takes once. Naturally, the family – even us extended family folks – are devastated. He wasn’t a junkie. He wasn’t a loser. He was not the stereotype in any way. He was a good man from a good family. This has become the norm in Ohio and Kentucky. It’s an epidemic taking young lives as fast as the needle hits the vein, literally and figuratively.

You might also recall when Stacy and I happened upon a group of people back in April who were holding similar signs to those above. We’ve been trying to catch up with them ever since: Annie Bassoni to the rescue! She found the group: Walking for Wellness: Stop Heroin, Lexington, KY, and tonight we three joined them for our first walk against heroin use.

Every person on the walk had a story. We met a couple who’d lost their son two years ago. This was their first walk, too. (Of course I can’t remember anyone’s name.) You could tell they were struggling to make sense of it all; to find a way to make his death have meaning. The woman who organizes this group (I also don’t remember her name) lost her son to heroin. I’m so inspired by her tenacity. She could have moved on without a word, but she chose to do something to help raise awareness to the fact that kids like Ryan, good kids from good families, are dying in droves.

Everyone we met had a story. The loss of a mother, a sister, sons and daughters and nephews and best friends. One lady was in the throes of disaster with her son currently on a binge. She was walking for herself because she didn’t know what else to do. Can you imagine the worry? God bless the ones left behind to pick up the pieces and move on. As awful as it is, there is hope. Look at the high number of young people who walked. And that couple we met who’s son passed two years ago? The father said to us, ” God finds a way to take care of us.” They’d been given a grandchild, a boy, just nine months after their son died. Ryan’s sister, Cassie, is pregnant with a boy due on Ryan’s birthday. The cycle of life remains intact, leaving so much to be grateful for in the midst of tragedy. We will walk again for all the Ryans out there.

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