I did not know your son, but I lost our son Eric in much the same way--it will be two years on May 11, 2015. I would like to thank you for the honesty you exhibited in the obituary you wrote for your son. I was not that forthcoming in my son's obituary, but I did write a letter to the Editor of the Daily World a few weeks ago ("If you haven't been there, You don't know") in which I was upfront about our son's struggle.

I was tired of people saying about the River Campers, "Not ALL of them are addicts; we should help them." as if the addicts were not even human beings and did not deserve anyone's help. I tried to make people understand that they shouldn't judge those wth addictions, as none of them know what the person was dealing with. With our son, it was mental illness.

Anyway, thank you for doing your part to speak up for those with addiction problems. I am so sorry that your son's life ended so prematurely; I know you dearly hoped this would not happen, the same as we hoped for our son. Our hearts are hurting together, as do the hearts of all who lose their children, no matter what their age. Keep on keeping on--it's all we can do. Hugs. Barb