After losing her 19-year-old son to heroin addiction in 2018, heartbroken mom Amanda Poole Krueger asks others to “use my son’s story” as a way to save lives.
The last thing Amanda Poole Krueger heard from her son, Giancarlo, was “I'm ok mom, I love you too.” The next day, he was gone. Another victim to a heroin overdose.
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Amanda could have tried hiding the details surrounding her tragedy, as so many feel they must do. But instead, heartbroken mom Amanda Poole Krueger is bravely speaking out about the “invisible disease” that claimed her young son’s life.
“Please use my son’s story,” she begs. “Please help me warn parents this is out there. It's all I can do now.”
Amanda Poole Krueger Warns With “My Son’s Story”
Losing Giancarlo was heart-wrenching enough. But having to explain his death to his 6-year-old brother, Clyde, was just as hard.
Amanda Poole Krueger says her husband handled the difficult task. He explained to Clyde how his beloved big brother suffered from an “invisible disease” and took medicine the doctor didn’t give him.
“It made him very sick and he died and went to heaven," he said.
That’s when the little boy let out a terrible scream that “didn't sound like it could come from a 6-year-old.”
These are the hard realities of how addictions ruin lives.
Amanda says Giancarlo was “the most gentle soul” who showed no signs of heroin use. He’d been to rehab and spent 10 months clean. He was working a steady job and owned his own apartment.
Yet, despite his success in battling heroin addiction, he “relapsed and died alone in his bed.”
Rather than keep quiet about the role heroin played in her son’s tragic death, Amanda Poole Krueger reached out to journalist Frank Somerville. She asked Frank, “please use my son’s story.”
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Amanda opted to get brutally honest about her son’s in the hopes of saving others. She wants people to know the ugly truth of drug addiction and heroin:
“The ugly truth that it can happen to anyone.”
Heartbroken Mom’s Full Post About Son’s Overdose
Opening up about something so personal isn’t easy. But Amanda Poole Krueger knew her pain needed to be used for a bigger purpose.
“Kids are DYING and people are too afraid to be honest even in obituaries because of the social stigma,” she says.
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What incredible courage Amanda has shown in sharing her son’s story. The post has been shared more than 170,000 times, with so many people commenting to show support and share their own stories of addiction struggles.
Our prayers are with Amanda and all of the families dealing with this difficult disease.
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h/t: FaithIt
Featured Image: Facebook/Frank Somerville KTVU