Samantha Jade Huntley, 9/6/1996-9/3/2017
Beautiful 16 year old cheerleader, had a car wreck and broke her back in 3 places.This was April of 2013. Doctors prescribed her pain meds, this is where it began...
Sam wore a back brace and began physical therapy. She continued on the pain meds for probably 6 months and was then just with no warning of addiction- no knowledge of this - no DR or nurse spoke to us about any of the possibilities, and I am not sure if they would have, that it would have mattered of her pain. There was just so much physical pain, and no way to relieve it. She had to do school from home because of the possibility of injuring her back at school and she couldn't carry her back pack and such. She could no longer do cheer, she had been involved in cheer and gymnastics since she was 4 years old. It was her life. Now her friends would change as the old friends were too busy with the activities she use to do with them and love so much.
Next came the passing of her Grandfather in June of 2014. Sam was still messing around taking pills, snorting pills, and other drugs. Such as any pain pills she could get, xanax for anxiety because she couldn't deal w/the pain of losing her Grandfather, whom was like a father to her. She wrote me a letter about her anxiety, depression and alcohol and drug use, we were working through things together, the best we could. I thought it was all getting better.
Graduation was May 2015, she made it! I knew at this time that Sam still had a problem with pills, (we always talked about things and worked together on things-we were close, always) but never in my wildest dreams would have imagined she would use heroin. A friend of hers finally talked her into trying it. That was it, one time, she was sucked in. She came to me and said she needed help and so we started the journey to recovery, so I hoped. The first treatment facility was Jan 2016, in our home town. In and out of treatments here and in Florida until her passing. Never was she allowed to stay inpatient for more than 30 days. We don't even have an inpatient facility in our town, so it wasn't an option until we found a place from a friend of a friend, Port St Lucie Florida. She did the best there, but every time she was moved from a 30 day inpatient to outpatient-sober living- she relapsed within 2 weeks.
Getting help is so hard. Not only for these with Addiction, but mental health issues as well, and I truly believe they go hand in hand. Being pushed off for a week to see a DR to start treatment, being kicked to a new facility bc insurance was refusing to pay anymore. I could quickly see what Addiction was doing, it stole her soul and kept holding her down, I was watching her drown, and was powerless. This is why people don't get help. They get turned away and used and kicked around so when they finally start feeling better they get kicked on again to go out for relapse with very little treatment, and they need way more. They get tired, frustrated of the vicious cycle. And give up ad keep using because it is so much easier and the disease controls them.
Anyway, Samantha went to her very last detox and treatment on July 19, 2017. She said this would be the last time, and it was. . But she was also confident that if it wasn't, my love for her would never change and i would always continue to fight with her to pull her through. Once again, after 30 days, the treatment facility made her leave and go to IOP. (intensive outpatient) She wasn't ready, she wanted to stay for 3 more weeks at least. Insurance was done paying for inpatient so they wouldn't keep her and they sent her back out into the world. Exactly ONE week later, she OD, and woke up in an ambulance. Three days later, after doing everything possible to make something work for a different facility to take her, she came home. There was no other option. Three days after that, I found my love, my only daughter, my whole entire life and world, I found her, dead. I woke up that Sunday at 4:30 am and immediately went to her room to check on her. It was too late. Needle laying in her lap, and probably gone for 3 hours, my guess, her lifeless body was resting in peace, she had taken God's hand and left this terrible world. With my broken heart, shattered for as long as I am alive...I will do my best to honor her, and help everyone I can, as she would want to do herself. Just as she always did, even in her darkest times. Life for me has forever changed, and I still don't know what is next, or how I will get through every day. She is always with me, in my heart, soul, and mind. But I know, God is helping me through this as well, or I would not be here still.
Beautiful 16 year old cheerleader, had a car wreck and broke her back in 3 places.This was April of 2013. Doctors prescribed her pain meds, this is where it began...
Sam wore a back brace and began physical therapy. She continued on the pain meds for probably 6 months and was then just with no warning of addiction- no knowledge of this - no DR or nurse spoke to us about any of the possibilities, and I am not sure if they would have, that it would have mattered of her pain. There was just so much physical pain, and no way to relieve it. She had to do school from home because of the possibility of injuring her back at school and she couldn't carry her back pack and such. She could no longer do cheer, she had been involved in cheer and gymnastics since she was 4 years old. It was her life. Now her friends would change as the old friends were too busy with the activities she use to do with them and love so much.
Next came the passing of her Grandfather in June of 2014. Sam was still messing around taking pills, snorting pills, and other drugs. Such as any pain pills she could get, xanax for anxiety because she couldn't deal w/the pain of losing her Grandfather, whom was like a father to her. She wrote me a letter about her anxiety, depression and alcohol and drug use, we were working through things together, the best we could. I thought it was all getting better.
Graduation was May 2015, she made it! I knew at this time that Sam still had a problem with pills, (we always talked about things and worked together on things-we were close, always) but never in my wildest dreams would have imagined she would use heroin. A friend of hers finally talked her into trying it. That was it, one time, she was sucked in. She came to me and said she needed help and so we started the journey to recovery, so I hoped. The first treatment facility was Jan 2016, in our home town. In and out of treatments here and in Florida until her passing. Never was she allowed to stay inpatient for more than 30 days. We don't even have an inpatient facility in our town, so it wasn't an option until we found a place from a friend of a friend, Port St Lucie Florida. She did the best there, but every time she was moved from a 30 day inpatient to outpatient-sober living- she relapsed within 2 weeks.
Getting help is so hard. Not only for these with Addiction, but mental health issues as well, and I truly believe they go hand in hand. Being pushed off for a week to see a DR to start treatment, being kicked to a new facility bc insurance was refusing to pay anymore. I could quickly see what Addiction was doing, it stole her soul and kept holding her down, I was watching her drown, and was powerless. This is why people don't get help. They get turned away and used and kicked around so when they finally start feeling better they get kicked on again to go out for relapse with very little treatment, and they need way more. They get tired, frustrated of the vicious cycle. And give up ad keep using because it is so much easier and the disease controls them.
Anyway, Samantha went to her very last detox and treatment on July 19, 2017. She said this would be the last time, and it was. . But she was also confident that if it wasn't, my love for her would never change and i would always continue to fight with her to pull her through. Once again, after 30 days, the treatment facility made her leave and go to IOP. (intensive outpatient) She wasn't ready, she wanted to stay for 3 more weeks at least. Insurance was done paying for inpatient so they wouldn't keep her and they sent her back out into the world. Exactly ONE week later, she OD, and woke up in an ambulance. Three days later, after doing everything possible to make something work for a different facility to take her, she came home. There was no other option. Three days after that, I found my love, my only daughter, my whole entire life and world, I found her, dead. I woke up that Sunday at 4:30 am and immediately went to her room to check on her. It was too late. Needle laying in her lap, and probably gone for 3 hours, my guess, her lifeless body was resting in peace, she had taken God's hand and left this terrible world. With my broken heart, shattered for as long as I am alive...I will do my best to honor her, and help everyone I can, as she would want to do herself. Just as she always did, even in her darkest times. Life for me has forever changed, and I still don't know what is next, or how I will get through every day. She is always with me, in my heart, soul, and mind. But I know, God is helping me through this as well, or I would not be here still.
