Pubdate: Fri, 28 Aug 2015 Source: Record, The (Kitchener, CN ON) Copyright: 2015 Metroland Media Group Ltd. Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Author: Liz Monteiro Page: B3 Cited: International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD): http://www.overdoseday.com/ SUPPORT FOR THOSE WHO LOST CHILDREN People Make Judgments About Parents Who Have Lost Children WATERLOO REGION - Losing a child is one of the greatest pains for any parent. But when the child dies from a drug overdose or a drinking and driving accident, the public stigma attached to those deaths can leave parents reeling with guilt. When Christine Padaric's son, Austin, died of an accidental overdose of hydromorphone pills, a narcotic pain reliever that is crushed and snorted by recreational users, some said he was a junkie or drug addict. The 17-year-old Heidelberg teen died on April 12, 2013, after being on life support for six days. He was found unconscious in a bathtub following a party in an Elmira apartment. "There is a lot of stigma associated with the death. People make assumptions that the victim is a drug addict," said Padaric. In the early days, Padaric heard hurtful comments suggesting poor parenting and others asking why a parent wouldn't notice the signs. "You feel very helpless," she said. Padaric, who has immersed herself in youth education and awareness, hopes to launch a support group for those dealing with the death of a child by drugs or alcohol known as Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing (GRASP). Similar support groups exist in Vancouver and Toronto. International Overdose Awareness Day is Aug. 31. Helping her is Kim Butler, who also lost her son, Gordie, in a single-car crash after he was drinking and driving on a highway near St. Jacob's. He had been out with friends and was on his way home at about 3 a.m. but got lost. He died instantly on Sept. 30, 2007. He had graduated Preston High School the year before and was thinking about college and a trade. For Butler, 59, grief counselling gave her the strength to cope with losing her son. It took years before she didn't feel the constant sadness. "At the five-year anniversary, I decided I wasn't going to dwell on the way he died, but remember the way he lived," she said. Her son had juvenile diabetes but never let that stop his zest for life, Butler said. Butler said the support group started by Padaric will allow her to share with other grieving parents that the profound pain in the beginning does become less intense as the years pass. "It's a good opportunity to tell people that it's not always going to be like this," she said. "As bad as it is, you are in good company with people who are going through the same situation." "You don't feel judged," Butler said. For Padaric, coping with her younger's son death has meant helping other teens understand the potential consequences of drug use. In Ontario, a person dies every 14 hours from an opioid-related overdose, said Michael Parkinson, who worked on an integrated drug strategy in the region with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council. At Austin's high school - Elmira District Secondary School - Padaric, along with the principal, implemented a lanyard program in which students were given lanyards to remind them that they should all graduate together. The school also held overdose training with a public health nurse. "I'm not anti-drug," Padaric said. "You need information that is valuable. Let's reduce the opportunity for harm." Parkinson said opioid overdoses are a preventable crisis but each year the numbers are increasing, particularly in Ontario and Alberta. From 2010 to 2014, legal sales of opioids in Canada has jumped by 24 per cent, Parkinson said. Parkinson said there is little support for bereaved parents and for many the judgment of others leads them to suffer in silence. "You're dealing with the loss of a child and then the judgment of others. It's brutal," he said. For more information on the group, contact Padaric: --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom