Carrie's injuries weren't very severe but she was prescribed OxyContin to manage her pain. I didn't know till recently that she started going to different pain management clinics to get more drugs to satisfy her growing addiction. During a party she attended someone offered her Heroin and she tried it and got addicted to it from the moment the drug hit her system. No long after that her best friend told me that Carrie was in trouble and that she needed help. I tried to get her to go to a rehab facility but she refused and ended up moving in with a guy she was dating. No matter what I said to try to get my daughter to seek help she said she could quit anytime she wanted and for me to get off her case.

I never gave up on her I kept trying to get her to see that she had a problem and she needed to deal with it by seeking professional help. My family staged an intervention type of thing and when Carrie arrived she left immediately when she realized what we were trying to do and refused to participate. She didn't want anyone's help and thought she could kick the habit all on her own. She continued to use heroin and her addiction kept spiraling out of control. There was nothing anyone could have said to make her want to stop using and get clean.

Carrie's boyfriend found her unconscious after returning home from work. He performed CPR but she was unresponsive. When the ambulance arrived she was pronounced dead. That's when he called me to tell me the awful news. My heart shattered in a thousand pieces when I found out my sweet daughter had passed away and I would never see her again. I miss Carrie more than words can say and I will continue to grieve for her till the day I die. I wish people would stop telling me that she's in a better place now. I don't find that statement comforting in any way. Time does not heal all wounds. Definitely not the gaping whole you're left with when you lose your child. If I could I would have traded places with Carrie. Parents are not supposed to outlive their children. Period.