One thing about blogging–and particularly blogging about something as personal and unpredictable as parenting–is that you do feel affinities for wide circles of people you’ve never met. One such person is John Cave Osborne, who blogs about his triplets and more out of Tennessee. Through him comes word of the death of the son of a friend of his, the momblogger MamaPundit. Her 18-year-old passed away over the weekend, more than a month after overdosing on inhaled heroin.
There’s a lot to think about there, including the line that all bloggers must draw when it comes to the personal lives of their older kids–by her own admission, MamaPundit had kept her son’s addiction a secret for two years or so while openly blogging, as many of us do, about her own life and those of her other three children.
But we’ll leave the thinking for another time. For now, it’s just very sad, and a reminder that we just can’t control much in the end. This is the thing that always struck my wife when she was working some forlorn shift at the ER and saw that homeless alcoholic with a gangrenous leg that needed amputating, or treated that inmate who had castrated himself in his cell, or the morbidly obese patient with just half a lung left who wouldn’t stop smoking. All these people were dying, essentially killing themselves, and each time she had a moment to reflect, she would just be caught up in the awful wonder of it all: This was somebody’s baby at some point. They started off on this earth fresh and cute and deserving of no less than anyone else. And look what happened to their lives, the only one each is ever gonna get.
I know it shouldn’t be sadder or hit closer to home because it happens to the child of another blogger, but it does feel that way.
Read through the last month of entries at MamaPundit, and if you’re moved to do so, John Cave Osborne is asking people to donate. You can find more information about it here.
I’ve been following the MamaPundit story online for a couple of days, and that sense of sickening familiarity and horror just won’t go away. I’d imagine it’s much the same for anyone who’s lost someone to drugs — that sense of incredible helplessness and loss and… waste.
My heart goes out to her and her family.
This is an incredibly sad story indeed. My wife and I spent a good while last night reading through her posts on the MamaPundit blog. My heart just broke. It is a great reminder to all of us parents that you never know when it may happen. Coming from a past history of addiction myself, it hits very close to home to think of how I would approach my children, should the need to intervene ever arise. I praise her strength to be public with the issue and pray that all parents will not shy away from such issues, even when you children are young, because as the situation shows, you just never know. My heart goes out to MamaPundit and her family.
her story is incredible. as compelling as it gets. what’s more, she endured this unspeakable tragedy while carrying her fifth child. she’s due in july.
thank you nathan, for mentioning this.
Thanks for sharing this, Nathan. I have friends in common with MamaPundit as well and have felt so saddened by this story.
I don’t know her, I don’t have to to know how awful and heartwrenching this has to be. I’ve lost so many friends to heroin. Addiction runs up and down both sides of my family tree.
My heart hurts for her.
I can’t really say “thanks for the linksI would add several of her posts on babble (http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/homework/archive/2010/05/26/Teenagers_2C00_-Drug-Abuse_2C00_-Addiction_2C00_-Parenting_2C00_-Katie-Allison-Granju.aspx) to the list.
I’m sitting here with my 7 month old banging on the keyboard, heartbroken and grieving with and for strangers, reflecting on my past struggles, and thinking forward to what his own may be.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to MamaPundit. Losing a child should never have to cross a parents mind.