Delaware parents whose children died of opioid addiction create support group of their own
Unlike other support groups, the members of Support After Addiction Death are mostly parents who have lost their children to addiction.
Delaware parents whose children died of opioid addiction create support group of their own Unlike other support groups, the members of Support After Addiction Death are mostly parents who have lost their children to addiction. Check out this story on delawareonline.com: https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/health/2018/04/17/delaware-parents-whose-children-died-opioid-addiction-create-support-group-their-own/511334002/
Meredith Newman, The News Journal Published 11:27 a.m. ET April 17, 2018 | Updated 1:31 p.m. ET April 17, 2018
As more cities sign off on bringing safe injection sites to places hardest hit by the opioid and heroin epidemic, Delaware leaders have begun talking about what these places could do for the state. Brittany Horn/The News Journal
Teri Algeo (right) with her daughter Katrina, who died at age 22 in 2015.(Photo: Courtesy of Teri Algeo)
Lidia Hanson is a member of a club no one wants to be in.
Three months ago, her son Teddy, 32, died of an accidental overdose. He struggled with an addiction to Xanax for the past decade, as well as depression and anxiety his entire life.
One night, after being turned away by detox centers due to space and insurance reasons, Teddy tried heroin for the first time.
The next morning, Hanson found him lying on the floor of his bedroom. He wasn't breathing.
Following her son's death, Hanson tried support groups. But they consisted of parents whose children are still alive. Hanson wanted to talk to people who also felt like they're "carrying baggage" all the time and would understand her experience.
Then she met MaryBeth.
MaryBeth Cichocki of Bear had recently started the group Support After Addiction Death following the accidental fatal overdose of her son Matt. She holds meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month at Faith Lutheran Church in Bear.
MaryBeth Cichocki's son, Matt, died at age 37 after battling an addition to opioids. She has started a support groups for other parents. (Photo: Courtesy of MaryBeth Cichocki)
Unlike other support groups, the members are mostly parents who have lost a child to addiction. Hanson attended her first meeting this month.
For the first time in a long time, Hanson says she felt a sense of relief.
"I got it all out. I cried," she says. "I felt like I'm not the only one and that I have people to go to."
As of last week, Delaware has seen 71 suspected overdose deaths this year. The state reported 345 suspected overdose deaths last year, a 12 percent increase from 2016.
Cichocki, who has has been a vocal advocate for addiction services in Delaware, started the group because she wanted to talk to people whose experiences were similar to her own.
She says it was difficult sitting next to people whose children had died from cancer or car accidents. The stigma of losing a child to addiction was overwhelming in some support groups, Cichocki says.
"I would leave those meetings hysterical," she says. "I felt more alone than I ever felt before."
Two years ago, she started a group affiliated with the national organization Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing, known as GRASP. This past fall, Cichocki decided to create a group of her own.
The meetings, which are typically attended by about 25 people, begin by Cichocki introducing new attendees and talking about Matt's story, in which a prescription for a back injury eventually led him down a dark road of addiction.
She has put together a recommended reading list of books and articles that focus on grief. The group brings in cakes for members' birthdays and flowers for the anniversary of their child's death.
"We get each other," Cichocki says. "We have all suffered the unspeakable loss of our child. But we've also suffered the incredible challenges of trying to find help for them."
Teri Algeo, of Newark, says the group helped her regain her "emotional health." Her daughter Katrina died at age 22 in 2015 from an accidental heroin overdose.
Algeo says it's been comforting to meet people who have gone through similar experiences, such as trying to find their child in the middle of the night or having to pick them up from jail.
Unlike in other groups, no one in this group asks her why she still feels sad or tells her it's time to move on, Algeo says.
Cichocki believes the group has saved her own life and has given her a reason to keep going. While she no longer feels alone, she knows the grief of losing a child will never totally go away.
"We still have those days where you think you let your child down," Cichocki says. "You should have done more. You should have screamed louder. You should have fought the insurance company more.
"Because now, it's final."
Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.
New Castle County: (800) 652-2929
Kent and Sussex counties: (800) 345-6785
Online: HelpIsHereDE.com
Delaware's 911/Good Samaritan Law protects people who report an overdose or person in medical distress from being arrested for low-level drug crimes.
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