[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 178 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1692-E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE NATIONAL OPIOID EPIDEMIC

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANN M. KUSTER

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2016

  Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to include in the Record 
today the personal stories of families from across the country that 
have been affected by the opioid and heroin epidemic. In the U.S. we 
lose 129 lives per day to opioid and heroin overdose. In my home state 
of New Hampshire I have learned so many heartbreaking stories of great 
people and families who have suffered from the effects of substance use 
disorder.
  Earlier this year, my colleagues and I were joined by many of these 
courageous families who came to Washington to share their stories with 
Members of Congress and push for action that will prevent overdoses and 
save lives. Since then, we passed both the Comprehensive Addiction and 
Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act to provide much needed 
funding and critical policy changes to fight this epidemic.
  The advocacy of these families truly is so important to leading to 
change in Washington and I am proud to preserve their stories.


                  Travis Clay Rose--Marshall, Virginia

       Travis was the youngest of four children and a joy to all 
     who met him, of which there were many; he was a very outgoing 
     person. From a young age he could always make his family 
     laugh.
       While reflecting back on his life, it never seemed to be an 
     easy one. Travis always seemed to have problems to overcome 
     but for the most part, he managed to deal with them in a 
     positive manner. Looking back over the years, I realize that 
     Travis was like so many others who have anxiety and 
     depression issues. He worked constantly to make those around 
     him feel happy and comfortable while in the meantime he was 
     struggling with his own issues. Travis started medicating or 
     experimenting with drugs in his early teenage years. Unlike 
     so many people who become addicted, he never had a problem 
     with alcohol but worked his way through the lineup of 
     marijuana, pills, and then opioids.
       If there is one thing his family would want people to 
     remember about Travis, it would be his love for his family. 
     He loved his mother, his brother, sisters, young nieces and 
     nephews. Regardless of his own struggles, Travis always took 
     the time to guide them through all aspects of their lives--he 
     cared deeply.
       His family was so hopeful about Travis beating his 
     addiction and moving on with his life. He was in jail for a 
     probation violation for about six months and then moved in 
     with his sister for three months. His family believes Travis 
     was clean for those nine months but unfortunately, after 
     getting out of jail he had no health insurance, and he 
     stopped taking medication for depression and anxiety.
       Travis was making changes in his life and posting publicly 
     about them. He talked about his desire to start a family and 
     own a business of his own someday. He was one of the first 
     people in our area to become a certified tree worker from the 
     International Society of Arboriculture. He took pride in his 
     job and was very good at it. Finally he seemed to be focusing 
     on his own life. But it took just once. On May 12, 2015, 
     Travis gave into temptation and it took his life.
       That Easter, Travis bought his mother a beautiful pink 
     dogwood tree. On Mother's Day, two days before he died, 
     Travis gave his mother a yellow knockout rose bush. They are 
     both planted in the memorial garden that his mother made in 
     Travis' honor. They grow alongside other plants, stones, and 
     features. His mother couldn't spend Christmas with Travis 
     this year, so she put a solar powered tree on his memorial 
     spot. It was the closest she could get to him.
       Losing Travis has left a huge hole in his mother's world, 
     but she knows his death has helped others to live and he will 
     always remain in their hearts. He would be proud of the 
     progress that has been made.


                      Tony Sabat--Cleveland, Ohio

       Tony Sabat lost his battle with substance use disorder and 
     is now one of the #129aDay who lose their lives to this 
     disease. Tony is not defined by his disease; he was so much 
     more than that. He was a loving son, brother, nephew, 
     grandson, cousin, and friend. He cared more for others than 
     he did himself. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to help 
     his friends and family.
       At the age of seven, his family noticed that Tony was 
     exhibiting some ``red flag'' behaviors. As the years went on 
     Tony suffered from terrible mood swings and bouts of anger. 
     His family took him to see a child psychiatrist when he was 
     12 because he was frequently depressed, angry, and suffering 
     from terrible insomnia. Tony was diagnosed with rapid cycling 
     bipolar disorder; therefore, he was put on antidepressant 
     medications and a mood stabilizer. At 13, we put him in an 
     intensive outpatient program for a week. By this time Tony 
     was frustrated with the medications and their side effects 
     and began engaging in self injurious behavior. Tony's family 
     thought that he was taking his medication but discovered that 
     he would hide his pills under the carpet in his room. Instead 
     of complying with taking his meds, he opted to self-medicate 
     with marijuana, and then alcohol.
       By 20 years old, Tony had a full-blown addiction to 
     alcohol. While trying to detox at home, he suffered grand mal 
     seizures and was hospitalized for a week. Tony was 
     hallucinating and delusional for the first several days of 
     this hospitalization. In February of 2009, he made his first 
     phone call to get on the waiting list at a treatment 
     facility. He was told the wait could be up to two weeks, but 
     the next day they had a bed for him. After completing the 28 
     day program, Tony was back on his medications and had a great 
     outlook on life. He was committed to going to AA meetings and 
     living a sober life. This lasted for about two years.
       After having dental surgery, Tony was prescribed Percocet 
     and started to backslide. It became apparent that he was 
     using the pain medication more than was prescribed. His path 
     to intravenous heroin started with abusing prescription 
     opioids and Xanax. Tony's life started spiraling out of 
     control from his heroin use.
       On July 2, 2014, after a self-injurious incident and having 
     a 72 hour psychiatric hold put on him, Tony once again made 
     the call to get on the waiting list for treatment. The next 
     day he entered his second treatment program, but this time 
     for his opioid addiction. Tony completed another 28 day 
     program, and afterwards opted to go into sober living--to be 
     away from the triggers in his hometown. After six weeks of 
     living there, Tony was kicked out. He decided it would be 
     best to stay in that town and moved into his own apartment. 
     Two weeks later Tony lost his job and was in a full-blown 
     alcohol and intravenous heroin relapse.
       On October 13, 2014, Tony left for his third and final 
     stint in treatment. This time he was in treatment for 40 days 
     and returned home November 13th. 48 hours later, on November 
     15th, Tony died of an overdose from heroin laced with 
     fentanyl. He was 25 years old.


                  BOBBY SATRE--JEFFERSONTON, VIRGINIA

       Bobby Satre died of a heroin overdose on April 18, 2015, 
     after a 13-year struggle with addiction. He was 31 years old. 
     His addiction to heroin did not start with prescription 
     medication use as it does for so many, but emerged after 
     years of experimenting with various drugs.
       Even as a young boy, Bobby was curious about so many 
     things. His family first realized he was using drugs at the 
     end of his senior year of high school, when they found a 
     marijuana pipe--he denied that it was his. A few months after 
     that incident, Bobby left to

[[Page E1693]]

     attend James Madison University, his top choice school. 
     During college he got into Crystal Meth. He called his family 
     one day in tears saying he had been up for days and that he 
     needed help. They were in shock and eager to get Bobby home. 
     Bobby then attended a 30-day treatment center and his family 
     were hopeful that this would mark the end of his drug use.
       Although, Bobby attempted to return to his studies at RAU, 
     he never completed his degree there. Instead, he attended a 
     community college where he completed an associate's degree 
     and graduated with honors.
       While back at home Bobby worked in restaurants and other 
     random jobs to pay the bills. It was during this time that he 
     got involved in heroin. Over the next several years, Bobby 
     was arrested several times for heroin possession, and 
     overdosed several times. On many of these occasions he agreed 
     to wear a wire while going out on buys in order to reduce his 
     charges. Our family was in private agony--we couldn't believe 
     that we had a child who would go so far as to put a needle in 
     his arm.
       During an annual weekend trip to Green Bay, WI, for an NFL 
     game, Bobby's family received a call saying that Bobby had 
     overdosed and was in bad shape. Bobby was placed in the ICU 
     and was barely hanging on; it took him several days to 
     stabilize. Afterwards Bobby was admitted to another treatment 
     program. Again, his family were confident that once he 
     completed the program he would be on the fast track to 
     recovery. When Bobby got out he was attending NA meetings and 
     working the program. He landed a very good sales job with a 
     packaging firm in Maryland and moved into a condo a few years 
     later. He also had a very special woman in his life with whom 
     he'd been friends with for several years. They began to 
     discuss marriage. His sales numbers at work increased as the 
     months went by. Finally, everything seemed to be going right.
       Bobby died alone in his condo after a night out celebrating 
     a friend's birthday. His friends asked him to stay over but 
     he wanted to go home. Those 13 years when he was battling 
     addiction were a living hell for his entire family. They 
     didn't think that anyone else could possibly understand and 
     they feared being judged by both friends and family.
       Bobby told his family how much he hated heroin and what 
     power it had over him. He said it invaded his dreams--that he 
     thought about it every single day. The only comfort I can 
     find while dealing with this grief is the knowledge that he 
     is free from his struggles with heroin and finally at peace.


              EMMETT J. SCANNELL--MANSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

       On April 20, 2016 Emmett J. Scannell lost his battle to 
     Substance Use Disorder and died of a heroin overdose. He was 
     20 years old. Emmett was the average American teen; he loved 
     video games and BMX biking. He was a caring, funny, smart 
     young man with the potential for greatness. Emmett was the 
     adored older brother to Zachary (age 18) and Alice (age 9). 
     He had a smile and charm that could light up a room--but 
     heroin stole that from him. As teenagers often do, Emmett 
     experimented with marijuana in high school, but after a bad 
     experience with a synthetic substance referred to as 
     ``spice'' or ``K2,'' he entered recovery and was sober for 
     his Junior and Senior year of high school. Emmett went on to 
     graduate from Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School in May 
     of 2014 as a National Honor Society scholar with a 4.27 GPA.
       In September of 2014, Emmett went to Worcester State 
     University to study Computer Science. His biggest worry at 
     the time was leaving his high school sweetheart behind. 
     Within six weeks of beginning college, heroin entered 
     Emmett's life. Within eighteen short months, heroin stole 
     Emmett from his family. During those long months, Emmett's 
     mother did everything in her power to help him, and if love 
     alone could have saved him--Emmett would still be here. 
     Unfortunately, in the early stages of his struggle with 
     addiction, Emmett's mother was unaware of the trips he took 
     to the hospital due to overdoses--HIPAA laws prevented her 
     from accessing that information because he was eighteen. As 
     Emmett's disease progressed, adequate treatment programs were 
     cost prohibitive (upwards of $30,000 out of pocket) and 
     nothing beyond a 5-day detox program was considered 
     ``medically necessary.'' Outpatient day programs, private 
     counseling, even the monthly Vivitrol shot were no match for 
     this disease.
       Since losing her son in April, Emmett's mother has been 
     very open about the circumstances leading up to his death--
     about his struggle with Substance Use Disorder and 
     specifically with heroin. This disease is not something to be 
     ashamed of or hidden. Substance Use Disorder is a disease 
     that has to be brought out into the light and addressed. We 
     are losing loved ones every day to this horrible epidemic. 
     Emmett's mother has vowed not to let her son's death be in 
     vain. She is working to stop the stigma, promote awareness, 
     promote education, promote early intervention and promote 
     prevention as well as lobby for access to treatment for all 
     suffering from this disease. She always told Emmett that he 
     was her sunshine. Emmett's mother will continue to shine that 
     light into the lives of others in his honor.


                 CANDACE BROOKE SHELTON--WISE, VIRGINIA

       Candace was such a special child. She was a pleaser; she 
     loved to make people happy and feel good. She made friends 
     easily and people loved to be around her. However, Candace 
     did keep a lot inside too and would hide her pain in many 
     different ways. When she was going through adolescence, she 
     began to eat to cover the pain she felt. She struggled a lot 
     with insecurities.
       In her early twenties, Candace was dealing with identity 
     issues and decided to confirm what her family already knew--
     she was gay. Candace never wanted to disappoint anyone and 
     felt like she was letting people down. This led to a lot of 
     wrong decisions including drinking, doing drugs, and texting 
     and driving one night which led to a near fatal car accident. 
     She had flipped her vehicle several times and was in critical 
     condition with lots of internal injuries. They had to 
     amputate her left leg and she was in a coma for almost two 
     months.
       Finally it happened, defying all odds--Candace awoke. The 
     nurses called her their ``miracle girl.'' But then Candace 
     had to come to the reality that her life had changed 
     dramatically; she could no longer walk. She struggled with 
     trying to adjust to a different way of life. She tried a 
     prosthetic leg, but due to the injuries in her right leg, she 
     never really gained use of it. Candace left the hospital on 
     lots of medication, including morphine and Fentanyl patches. 
     She was weaned off those drugs, but it was the beginning of 
     the addiction that would eventually end her life.
       Candace continued with pain medications, but at this time 
     she was prescribed Oxycodone, and later Xanax for anxiety. 
     Afterwards, she had moved in with a person she had met on 
     Facebook and they were in a relationship. It wasn't the best 
     situation for Candace because this person was abusing 
     substances; adding fuel to the flame.
       Candace sent her mother a text on a Monday night, asking if 
     she could drive her to her doctor's appointment the next day. 
     Candace's mother told her she was not able to and ending up 
     arguing. Candace ended up finding a way to the doctors, where 
     she was prescribed more pain medication and Xanax. She texted 
     her mother that evening, but she was being stubborn and was 
     going to let her stew for a bit. It was the day before 
     Thanksgiving and thought she would just make-up with Candace 
     when they were together. But that day never came.
       Her mother received a call around 3 a.m. Thanksgiving 
     morning that Candace had passed away that night from an 
     overdose. The autopsy confirmed that Candace had taken a 
     lethal dose of both her medications. Apparently she had 
     started to overdose the previous day, falling out of her 
     wheelchair. The people Candace was with kept putting her back 
     to bed, instead of calling 911; they were afraid of getting 
     Candace's medications taken away. The girl Candace was living 
     with overdosed just two days later on the same medication 
     that Candace had.
       Candance's family's lives changed forever that Thanksgiving 
     morning in 2013.


                    CODY, SHUMWAY--HEMET, CALIFORNIA

       Cody was his mother's first born son. He was a loving, 
     caring, brilliant, gifted and funny individual. He was a joy 
     to be around and had many friends. Cody began experimenting 
     with drugs and alcohol at the age of 14 and very quickly we 
     realized that he had a serious problem. After two stints in 
     treatment during his junior year of high school, Cody stayed 
     off of hard drugs for 15 years.
       Cody was a musical and math genius and after college he 
     moved to Hawaii to become a high school math teacher. He was 
     living his dream of surfing big waves and working a job that 
     he loved. His students loved him as well.
       Cody got injured surfing and was prescribed Vicodin. After 
     15 years sober from hard drugs, Cody fell back into his 
     disease of addiction almost immediately. He finally agreed to 
     go to treatment and while he was there he helped many others 
     with their issues. He was such a likeable guy that people 
     enjoyed his company no matter where he was. After 10 months 
     of hard-won sobriety, Cody lost his battle to the disease of 
     addiction on July 26, 2012, just two days after completing 
     his Master's Degree. He died of an overdose of heroin and 
     alcohol.


                    Caleb Smythia--Loudon, Tennessee

       Caleb Smythia, oldest of four, was his mother's biggest fan 
     and the idol of his brother and two sisters. Caleb was a 
     great cook, loved all kinds of music and had a passion for 
     playing the guitar. Music became so much a part of Caleb's 
     life because he found it to be therapeutic.
       Caleb's struggles began at age 16. He went through many 
     rough patches and began abusing methamphetamine. When objects 
     and money kept missing at home, his mother filed an unruly 
     charge against him and Caleb became a child of the state. He 
     spent over a year and a half in three different foster homes 
     and one group home. Unfortunately, Caleb was never placed in 
     a treatment facility, even though he relapsed and tested 
     positive for five different drugs in his system.
       When Caleb eventually went home, he seemed to have his life 
     back on track. After graduating high school, Caleb had hopes 
     of going to culinary school. However, within days after 
     graduating, Caleb returned to his old friends who were 
     abusing methamphetamine and pills.
       Eventually, problems with Caleb were so bad that his mother 
     told him he was no longer welcome in her home. One late night 
     in the pouring rain, Caleb knocked on the door. His mother 
     told Caleb she would take him to the ER or to a treatment 
     facility but

[[Page E1694]]

     he couldn't come into the house. Even though Caleb was at 
     such a low point and begged for help, the ER turned him away.
       Another night Caleb arrived at his mother's door bloodied 
     and broken. Caleb had been beaten and tortured for two hours 
     by eight members of the local college baseball team. One of 
     the players had given Caleb $35 and asked him to get 
     Percocet. Caleb was so deep in his addiction that he kept the 
     money in order to get a fix. To retaliate, the team forced a 
     mutual friend to trick Caleb into another drug deal. When 
     Caleb went to meet the friend, he was abducted, thrown in the 
     back of a truck, and held down by his throat. The baseball 
     team drove Caleb to a field where he was kicked and stomped 
     while curled in a fetal position. Caleb begged for his life 
     and promised to pay them $50 if they let him go. The next 
     day, two of the boys came to Caleb's mother's house to get 
     the money. One of them was holding the same baseball bat they 
     had used to break Caleb's knee the night before. Three of the 
     eight boys were charged and convicted of felony assault for 
     which they received 10 years probation. Caleb refused to 
     testify against his attackers in court because he felt like 
     he deserved the beating.
       Caleb's family soon moved and everything seemed to be well 
     again. However, Caleb's mother worked two jobs and didn't 
     know that Caleb was getting into his grandmother's pain 
     pills. Caleb went to live 200 miles away with his father. 
     Unfortunately, Caleb wasn't kept safe--his father also had a 
     substance abuse disorder. Caleb overdosed and died on 
     Christmas morning of 2015, after being sold black market 
     pills that contained fentanyl.


                Ryan Joseph Souder--Linwood, New Jersey

       Ryan Souder died in October of 2012 to a heroin overdose. 
     In September, Ryan was at his lowest; he was homeless and 
     couldn't get a job so he just walked around all day. He asked 
     his mother for help and, like so many times before, she 
     called every place that she could think of but there were no 
     beds available. She took him to the emergency room and the 
     doctor wasn't very helpful. He said that if Ryan wanted to 
     get sober, he would have to do it on his own. The doctor gave 
     them some medication to help with the withdrawals and Ryan 
     and his mother sat in a hotel room together for almost a week 
     while he detoxed. The doctor said to watch him. Many times 
     over the course of that week Ryan's mother stood over him 
     while he slept, just to make sure he was still breathing. 
     Days later, she was finally able to get a bed for Ryan and 
     they drove to the treatment center.
       Ten days into detox Ryan called and begged his mother to 
     come get him. She told him that he needed to stay and get 
     better. The director of the treatment center called her a few 
     hours later to say that Ryan had called one of his friends 
     instead. The man was on his way to pick Ryan up.
       Within a month Ryan died alone in that ``friend's'' guest 
     room. Ryan had just turned 21.
       Ryan was adored by everyone that knew him; he was funny, 
     handsome, smart, compassionate, and athletic. Ryan was a son, 
     brother, best friend, nephew, and grandson. He loved his 
     family very much and was always asking after everyone, he 
     even called from jail and while he was living on the streets.
       Ryan dropped out of high school during his junior year in 
     high school and never got the chance to walk at graduation or 
     get his diploma. He didn't go to prom. Ryan never got a 
     driver's license. He will never watch either of his sisters 
     get married. Ryan will never do any of the things that his 
     mother, always dreamt he would. His death was a crushing blow 
     to our whole family.


            Thomas ``Tommy'' Sowell--Jane Lew, West Virginia

       Tommy was born June 11, 1991, and passed away on February 
     13, 2016, from an accidental overdose of heroin laced with 
     fentanyl. Tommy's addiction likely began when he was 
     prescribed oxycodone after undergoing surgery for a hernia 
     during 9th grade.
       Tommy was his parents' youngest child--he was a good son, 
     person, and brought joy to all of our lives Tommy loved his 
     family and tried hard to overcome his struggles with 
     addiction. He was sweet and sensitive, respectful and loving. 
     He was physically strong yet tender-hearted and could be 
     fiercely funny, witty and ornery--all at the same time. Tommy 
     always made his family laugh with his spot-on impressions and 
     general goofiness. His smile could light up a room and his 
     grin would melt anyone's heart. Tommy was always able to 
     conquer anything he set out to do, except his battle with 
     addiction. His family knows that given the time Tommy would 
     have been able to beat it.


          Michael ``Mike'' James Turner--Norwalk, Connecticut

       So many people think ``drunk'' or ``junkie'' when they see 
     someone suffering from addiction. What they can't see is a 
     person that is stuck in a body they can no longer control.
       Mike Turner suffered from addiction. He was also type 1 
     diabetic and had a chiari malformation in his brain. He had a 
     long history of alcohol and drug abuse and in the end, it was 
     heroin that took him. Those were Mike's labels, but that is 
     not who Mike was--the man he was, was an affectionate, 
     exciting and hilarious dad, boyfriend, son, brother, and 
     uncle. He had integrity, he was honest, and charitable. Mike 
     participated in Chiari Malformation Cancer, Autism and 
     Addiction events. He planned on going back to school to 
     become an addiction counselor.
       Mike acknowledged his issues and fought to better himself 
     in the best way he knew how. Mike even went through a 
     parenting course to try to be a better dad. He loved his 
     kiddos--Mike Jr. and Amber--more than anything. He was all 
     about his family and looked forward to weekly Sunday dinners 
     at his mom's house.
       Mike was a funny guy--pretty clumsy and always getting into 
     mischief. He was so positive and encouraged everyone around 
     him in their pursuits. Everyone who knew the real Mike loved 
     him.
       Mike had his demons, however, and he knew that overcoming 
     his addiction was the most important thing. As long as he was 
     using he was useless to his kids, his family, and his job. 
     Mike knew the hurt his addiction caused others and that 
     destroyed him. It devastated his family to witness his hurt 
     and share his pain. Mike tried detoxing and treatment 
     numerous times. He was part of a group called the SNAKES--
     Soldiers Needing Accountability Keeping Each Other Sober in 
     Christ. In April 2016, he graduated from a program with 9 
     months clean.
       On April 22, 2016, just three weeks after his graduation, 
     Mike was living with his girlfriend, Theresa, again. He woke 
     up with a start that morning and said he had low blood sugar. 
     By 8:30 a.m., his sugar was up and he said he was feeling 
     much better.
       Mike's last message to Theresa was at 9:17 AM: ``no worries 
     im alive :cP.'' Theresa called him after her meeting around 
     10:30. He didn't answer so she called again . . . still no 
     answer. She kept trying. Theresa had another meeting that 
     ended around 11:45. She tried calling again and there was 
     still no answer. Fearful that his sugar had dropped too low, 
     she ran home. When Theresa got home around 12:30 p.m., she 
     opened the door and found Mike.
       Mike had relapsed after being 9 months clean. Theresa had 
     no idea that he had been using. He overdosed some time 
     between 9:17 and 10:30 that morning, on April 22, 2016. He 
     was 33 years old.

                          ____________________