A lady who lost her soulmate to a fentanyl overdose reflected on her struggle with grief in the course of the holidays and offered advice to others who could also be affected by the lack of a loved one.
“Grief becomes heavier in the course of the holidays,” Gwen Dudley, a recovering addict, told Fox News. “All the pieces around you screams family, connection, tradition and love, so it amplifies the pain.”
Dudley’s partner, Paul Francis Duffy II, 32, relapsed after staying sober for 3 years. He died soon after, in May 2021, forsaking his and Dudley’s son, Luca, who’s now three years old.
“My first holiday without Duffy was probably the most painful time of my entire life,” said Dudley, who met Duffey while the 2 were in recovery. “All I could take into consideration was the vacations we shared previously and the way much he was missing out on with our son.”
“Every joyful moment with my son was a reminder that Duffy isn’t here,” she continued. “Decorating the tree felt like a dagger in the guts.”
Duffy got hooked on drugs through a legitimate prescription — he’d initially been given OxyContin in highschool for a back injury, Dudley told Fox News. He battled with addiction for the subsequent 15 years, going through multi-year periods of sobriety followed by relapse.
Two months after his final relapse, Duffy unknowingly bought drugs laced with fentanyl, an artificial opioid 50-100 times stronger than morphine, in accordance with the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
He never returned home.
This Christmas, Dudley plans to honor Duffy’s memory by making his favorite foods, adorning their tree along with his childhood ornaments and decorating his grave with their son.
“Quite a lot of persons are afraid to discuss with me about him out of fear of upsetting me, however it’s actually the perfect thing I could ask for,” she said.
“At all times say his name,” she added. “I would like his memory to remain alive through us and likewise for the sake of my son.”
Before his death, Duffy worked as a peer support specialist for the Anne Arundel County Health Department in Maryland, a position created as a part of the county’s effort to battle the fentanyl crisis.
“That’s the insanity of addiction, right?” Dudley told Fox News. “Duffy knew from his job how dangerous this was, but he thought he had it under control.”
Dudley said fear of judgment, even from throughout the recovery community, held Duffy back from in search of help once he began using again in 2021.
Though she still grieves her partner, Duffy strives to bring intending to his death by raising awareness in regards to the dangers of fentanyl and ending the stigma around addiction so more people will feel comfortable in search of treatment.
“Losing a loved one to an overdose might be an isolating experience due to the stigma of addiction,” she said. “Individuals are afraid to inform others how their loved one died.”
Dudley encouraged people to envision on friends grieving the lack of a loved one as a consequence of drug abuse this holiday season.
“Possibly a 12 months or two or five has passed since they lost someone and so they seem okay on the skin,” Dudley said. “But acknowledgment of their grief may be what they desperately need.”
“Feeling alone is what takes people deeper into the despair of grief,” she added. “But walking through it together will carry us through.”
Now, Dudley works remotely as a national outreach coordinator for Ascend Recovery Center in West Palm Beach. She uses TikTok as a platform to lift awareness in regards to the dangers of fentanyl.
“That is wiping out a generation,” Dudley told Fox News. “Our youngsters are dying.”
“I hate to take into consideration how many individuals will likely be spending their 2023 holiday without their spouse, child, brother, sister, mother, father and friend,” she said.
Drug overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 for the primary time in U.S. history in 2021, in accordance with the CDC. Over 64,000 of those deaths were as a consequence of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“These deaths don’t discriminate and so many individuals think it won’t occur to them until it does,” Dudley said.
“We’re truly within the midst of a public health crisis that has no end in sight,” she added. “If we wish the deaths to decelerate, the people at the highest have to make it a priority in the identical way that they did for COVID-19.”
A lady who lost her soulmate to a fentanyl overdose reflected on her struggle with grief in the course of the holidays and offered advice to others who could also be affected by the lack of a loved one.
“Grief becomes heavier in the course of the holidays,” Gwen Dudley, a recovering addict, told Fox News. “All the pieces around you screams family, connection, tradition and love, so it amplifies the pain.”
Dudley’s partner, Paul Francis Duffy II, 32, relapsed after staying sober for 3 years. He died soon after, in May 2021, forsaking his and Dudley’s son, Luca, who’s now three years old.
“My first holiday without Duffy was probably the most painful time of my entire life,” said Dudley, who met Duffey while the 2 were in recovery. “All I could take into consideration was the vacations we shared previously and the way much he was missing out on with our son.”
“Every joyful moment with my son was a reminder that Duffy isn’t here,” she continued. “Decorating the tree felt like a dagger in the guts.”
Duffy got hooked on drugs through a legitimate prescription — he’d initially been given OxyContin in highschool for a back injury, Dudley told Fox News. He battled with addiction for the subsequent 15 years, going through multi-year periods of sobriety followed by relapse.
Two months after his final relapse, Duffy unknowingly bought drugs laced with fentanyl, an artificial opioid 50-100 times stronger than morphine, in accordance with the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
He never returned home.
This Christmas, Dudley plans to honor Duffy’s memory by making his favorite foods, adorning their tree along with his childhood ornaments and decorating his grave with their son.
“Quite a lot of persons are afraid to discuss with me about him out of fear of upsetting me, however it’s actually the perfect thing I could ask for,” she said.
“At all times say his name,” she added. “I would like his memory to remain alive through us and likewise for the sake of my son.”
Before his death, Duffy worked as a peer support specialist for the Anne Arundel County Health Department in Maryland, a position created as a part of the county’s effort to battle the fentanyl crisis.
“That’s the insanity of addiction, right?” Dudley told Fox News. “Duffy knew from his job how dangerous this was, but he thought he had it under control.”
Dudley said fear of judgment, even from throughout the recovery community, held Duffy back from in search of help once he began using again in 2021.
Though she still grieves her partner, Duffy strives to bring intending to his death by raising awareness in regards to the dangers of fentanyl and ending the stigma around addiction so more people will feel comfortable in search of treatment.
“Losing a loved one to an overdose might be an isolating experience due to the stigma of addiction,” she said. “Individuals are afraid to inform others how their loved one died.”
Dudley encouraged people to envision on friends grieving the lack of a loved one as a consequence of drug abuse this holiday season.
“Possibly a 12 months or two or five has passed since they lost someone and so they seem okay on the skin,” Dudley said. “But acknowledgment of their grief may be what they desperately need.”
“Feeling alone is what takes people deeper into the despair of grief,” she added. “But walking through it together will carry us through.”
Now, Dudley works remotely as a national outreach coordinator for Ascend Recovery Center in West Palm Beach. She uses TikTok as a platform to lift awareness in regards to the dangers of fentanyl.
“That is wiping out a generation,” Dudley told Fox News. “Our youngsters are dying.”
“I hate to take into consideration how many individuals will likely be spending their 2023 holiday without their spouse, child, brother, sister, mother, father and friend,” she said.
Drug overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 for the primary time in U.S. history in 2021, in accordance with the CDC. Over 64,000 of those deaths were as a consequence of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“These deaths don’t discriminate and so many individuals think it won’t occur to them until it does,” Dudley said.
“We’re truly within the midst of a public health crisis that has no end in sight,” she added. “If we wish the deaths to decelerate, the people at the highest have to make it a priority in the identical way that they did for COVID-19.”
