Ryan Matthew DiPierro
My son, Ryan Matthew DiPierro, died of an accidental drug overdose on August 13, 2016, at the young age of 27. I would like you to know more about Ryan, than this sad, unfortunate way that his life was cut short.
Ryan was a smart, funny, loving and extremely talented young man. His number one passion was music, which he pursued every available minute that he had. He wrote, played, recorded and performed his music. A self-taught guitarist, he was in his first band while in middle school, and formed other bands from then until the day he died. He attended community college in Maine after high school, and then moved to Nashville, TN where he received his Audio Engineering Certification from SAE (School of Audio Engineering). He wrote, sang, played, recorded and mastered his first EP while there, which I am so blessed to have to listen to now, and it is also on you tube.
Ryan loved the outdoors. He loved camping and hiking with his dad. He enjoyed landscaping which was his full time employment for approximately 10 years. He was an amazing artist, from drawing, to making music and making beautiful landscapes for others and for himself.
Ryan suffered severe back pain, after being involved in a serious car accident in 2003. Even with this back injury, he still worked hard, often 60 hour weeks in the summer, while in constant physical pain. Ryan had emotional pain as well. He lost his best friend, who was also his sister's boyfriend, in a swimming accident about 7 years ago. Ryan tried to save him from drowning, to no avail. After this, Ryan suffered from night terrors, insomnia and PTSD.
While attending college in Nashville, Ryan's doctor gave him prescriptions of all types for his emotional and physical pain. When Ryan moved back to Maine, his doctor here would no longer prescribe these meds, and offered no help getting him off of them or for withdrawals from becoming addicted to them. Ryan felt he had no choice but to hit the streets, and get heroin to ease the extreme pain he felt on a daily basis. He could not afford insurance, so he was offered no help from doctors, hospitals or clinics that he visited.
Ryan was not a "skid-row junkie". He was a smart, hard working young man, who wanted to pursue music. He never spent time in jail, and to my knowledge was never arrested for anything. He was a wonderful young man with good work ethics, good morals and values. He was an amazing brother and awesome son. Ryan was raised in a loving family with his Dad, Mom and Sister. He became a born again Christian at a very young age, and was baptized in our family church. Ryan was loved by so many!
At Ryan's funeral, the friends that spoke of him used the words "loyal friend". If you were fortunate enough to be Ryan's friend, he always had your back. He loved his family, he loved his friends and he had a beautiful heart and soul. He had goals and dreams that he did not get to pursue, because he bought and used a tainted batch of heroin, and as a result, he died. The dealer that sold to him, was a classmate and called herself his friend. Unfortunately, she received very little punishment, even though there was plenty of proof that she was the one to cause Ryan's death.
Ryan was his older sister's best friend. They were completely connected since his birth. She is devastated by the loss of her brother, her best friend in the world for 27 of her 30 years of life.
As Ryan's Mother, my life will never be the same. When Ryan's life ended, a part of mine did as well. I can't possibly explain in this short story, how much my life has been altered. I am not and never will be the same person I was before losing a part of myself, my son Ryan.
Ryan's life did not have to end. He was not diagnosed with a terminal disease, but he did suffer from a disease, which he could not get any help for. Three months before he died, I offered to take him to Operation Hope in Scarborough. He seemed to want help that day, but he didn't know how his rent would be paid or how his cat would be taken care of if he went away to rehab. He was afraid he would lose his job.
My understanding is that Ryan got clean on his own for the last 2 months of his life. He did not want to be an addict. He wanted to be free of this horrible disease. Addiction is so very powerful, that he relapsed on or about August 12, 2016 and made a phone call to get a fix. This would be his last fix. I do not in any way condone heroin or any other illegal drug use. But Ryan made a choice to get high on heroin to relieve his pain. He did not choose to get high on Fentanyl, which the heroin he bought was laced with (per the medical examiner's report), which ultimately ended his life.
The heroin epidemic is out of control, across the entire county. My personal feeling is that the drug dealers need severe punishment as well as rehabilitation. I believe that without dealers, there would be no users, therefore there would be no addicts. If a strong punishment for even one dealer was imposed, it may stop another dealer from continuing to sell this poison. Even that, would be a start.
Tenlee DiPierro
Mother of my beloved son, Ryan Matthew DiPierro
My son, Ryan Matthew DiPierro, died of an accidental drug overdose on August 13, 2016, at the young age of 27. I would like you to know more about Ryan, than this sad, unfortunate way that his life was cut short.
Ryan was a smart, funny, loving and extremely talented young man. His number one passion was music, which he pursued every available minute that he had. He wrote, played, recorded and performed his music. A self-taught guitarist, he was in his first band while in middle school, and formed other bands from then until the day he died. He attended community college in Maine after high school, and then moved to Nashville, TN where he received his Audio Engineering Certification from SAE (School of Audio Engineering). He wrote, sang, played, recorded and mastered his first EP while there, which I am so blessed to have to listen to now, and it is also on you tube.
Ryan loved the outdoors. He loved camping and hiking with his dad. He enjoyed landscaping which was his full time employment for approximately 10 years. He was an amazing artist, from drawing, to making music and making beautiful landscapes for others and for himself.
Ryan suffered severe back pain, after being involved in a serious car accident in 2003. Even with this back injury, he still worked hard, often 60 hour weeks in the summer, while in constant physical pain. Ryan had emotional pain as well. He lost his best friend, who was also his sister's boyfriend, in a swimming accident about 7 years ago. Ryan tried to save him from drowning, to no avail. After this, Ryan suffered from night terrors, insomnia and PTSD.
While attending college in Nashville, Ryan's doctor gave him prescriptions of all types for his emotional and physical pain. When Ryan moved back to Maine, his doctor here would no longer prescribe these meds, and offered no help getting him off of them or for withdrawals from becoming addicted to them. Ryan felt he had no choice but to hit the streets, and get heroin to ease the extreme pain he felt on a daily basis. He could not afford insurance, so he was offered no help from doctors, hospitals or clinics that he visited.
Ryan was not a "skid-row junkie". He was a smart, hard working young man, who wanted to pursue music. He never spent time in jail, and to my knowledge was never arrested for anything. He was a wonderful young man with good work ethics, good morals and values. He was an amazing brother and awesome son. Ryan was raised in a loving family with his Dad, Mom and Sister. He became a born again Christian at a very young age, and was baptized in our family church. Ryan was loved by so many!
At Ryan's funeral, the friends that spoke of him used the words "loyal friend". If you were fortunate enough to be Ryan's friend, he always had your back. He loved his family, he loved his friends and he had a beautiful heart and soul. He had goals and dreams that he did not get to pursue, because he bought and used a tainted batch of heroin, and as a result, he died. The dealer that sold to him, was a classmate and called herself his friend. Unfortunately, she received very little punishment, even though there was plenty of proof that she was the one to cause Ryan's death.
Ryan was his older sister's best friend. They were completely connected since his birth. She is devastated by the loss of her brother, her best friend in the world for 27 of her 30 years of life.
As Ryan's Mother, my life will never be the same. When Ryan's life ended, a part of mine did as well. I can't possibly explain in this short story, how much my life has been altered. I am not and never will be the same person I was before losing a part of myself, my son Ryan.
Ryan's life did not have to end. He was not diagnosed with a terminal disease, but he did suffer from a disease, which he could not get any help for. Three months before he died, I offered to take him to Operation Hope in Scarborough. He seemed to want help that day, but he didn't know how his rent would be paid or how his cat would be taken care of if he went away to rehab. He was afraid he would lose his job.
My understanding is that Ryan got clean on his own for the last 2 months of his life. He did not want to be an addict. He wanted to be free of this horrible disease. Addiction is so very powerful, that he relapsed on or about August 12, 2016 and made a phone call to get a fix. This would be his last fix. I do not in any way condone heroin or any other illegal drug use. But Ryan made a choice to get high on heroin to relieve his pain. He did not choose to get high on Fentanyl, which the heroin he bought was laced with (per the medical examiner's report), which ultimately ended his life.
The heroin epidemic is out of control, across the entire county. My personal feeling is that the drug dealers need severe punishment as well as rehabilitation. I believe that without dealers, there would be no users, therefore there would be no addicts. If a strong punishment for even one dealer was imposed, it may stop another dealer from continuing to sell this poison. Even that, would be a start.
Tenlee DiPierro
Mother of my beloved son, Ryan Matthew DiPierro
