Some use a family member’s death as a reason to change their perspective on life, some struggle to come to terms with their passing and others use the bereavement as an opportunity to send a message to the wider world.
Like Fred and Dorothey McIntosh-Shuemake who chose to share the heartbreaking reason for their daughter’s passing, one grief stricken wife and mother from the States made a similar decision.
Following the passing of her husband, Mike, Eva Holland from Cincinnati chose to share an image which was taken at the funeral of her childrens’ father, Mike.
In a move which has been lauded by some and condemned by others, Eva uploaded an image to her social media channels which shows her and her children standing alongside Mike’s coffin- the last time the family of four would be photographed together.
Using the jarring image to send a clear anti-drugs message, Eva wrote: “I'm sure this photo makes a lot of people uncomfortable it may even p**s a few people off but the main reason I took it was to show the reality of addiction.”
Lamenting her husband’s downward spiral into heroin addiction, Eva explained: “You may think it will never happen to you but guess what that's what Mike thought too. He never would've imagined his life would turn out this way. He was once so happy and full of life.” (sic)
Paying tribute to the man she described as a “great son, brother, friend and dad’, Eva recalled Mike’s efforts to control his addiction, writing: “He loved us all so much he decided enough was enough and went to rehab at the end of last year. He got out right before Christmas as a brand new man. He had found his purpose for living again.”
“He found his gorgeous smile again, he became the man, the son, the brother, the dad that we all needed him to be again,” she remembers.
With heartbreaking honesty in a post which has been shared thousands of times on Facebook and Instagram, Eva then goes onto document the moment which led her childrens’ father back into the addiction he had so courageously fought.
“He did so good for so long but then a couple months ago it started with a single pill for a ‘toothache’ which inevitably led him back down the road of addiction instead of staying the course of recovery,” she wrote.
Acknowledging the fragility of life and lamenting her husband’s blatant disregard for his own mortality, Eva opened up to her Facebook and Instagram followers, writing: “He said he could handle it, that he could stop on his own and didn't need to get help again. Well, he was wrong. Last Wednesday he took his last breath.”
Determined her husband’s death isn’t in vain, Eva hopes Mike’s experience will deter people from starting down a road from which they may never return.
“My kids’ father, the man I loved since I was a kid, a great son and a great person lost his battle. I just needed to share his story in case it can help anyone else,“ she finished.
Eva has been inundated with messages of support following her brave upload.
We’re thinking of Mike’s family and friends at this devastating time.
