A couple in Ohio made a defiant decision to publicly display that their 18-year-old daughter's death was caused by heroin abuse, choosing to ignore whatever bias or stigma it may bring.
Alison Shuemake was a recent high school graduate, who, along with her boyfriend, Luther David Combs, moved into an apartment two weeks ago, reported U.S. News and World Report. Both had two jobs in order to support themselves.
Shuemake, who had been in rehabilitation months earlier for alcohol and marijuana abuse, was supposed to go to the home of her parents, Fred and Dorothy McIntosh Shuemake, in order to do laundry Aug. 25, reported the Associated Press. However, even after it reached 3:30 a.m., neither Alison nor her boyfriend showed up, prompting a worried Dorothy to call.
A few moments later, Alison's roommate called and said, "something's wrong."
Upon hearing the ominous news, Dorothy rushed over to the apartment and saw immediately that both were "definitely gone," spotting a needle on the floor, according to Yahoo! News.
It was at that moment that she decided to make her brave decision. First she called Combs' parents about her decision to mention heroin overdose in the obituary, to which they "had no objection"
A few days later his obituary was published, reading, "Luther David Combs, 31, of Middletown, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, of a heroin overdose."
Some time after that, Alison's obituary was published as well.
Dorothy cited the rise of heroin related deaths in the county, as well as an increasing reluctance to acknowledge it as the reason for mentioning heroin overdose in the obituaries.
"There was no hesitation," she said. "We've seen other deaths when it's heroin, and the families don't talk about it because they're ashamed or they feel guilty. Shame doesn't matter right now.
"What really matters is keeping some other person, especially a child, from trying this ... We didn't want anybody else to feel the same agony and wretchedness that we're left with."
