I live in Nashville. The City has been greatly saddened by the death of our beloved Mayor Barry and her husband's only child, their 22 year old son Max. He had apparently been battling substance abuse issues for a while. He was working in Colorado after graduating from college. He was visiting friends, who found him unresponsive the evening of 29th. An ambulance was called, but he remained unresponsive and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The Sheriff's office there is investigating his death, but there's no indication there was foul play or suspicious circumstances. There were thousands of mourners at his visitation, which went on for many hours, and almost as many at the funeral. Max's death brings home even more forcefully to me that no one..NO ONE...is immune to addiction and its effects. This child had every possible advantage, was well loved and well raised by all accounts, had an excellent education and ample opportunities. Every news report I've read speaks of Max as fun loving and bright and kind and full of light and life. Even though I don't know the family, I have a deep understanding of what they must be feeling. The threat of this very thing happening to my son, a recovering addict, is ever present, even though he's actively pursuing his recovery and has been for almost three years. He is still an addict, and will always be one, and is only EVER one choice away from this very thing happening to him. What an insidious, awful, wretched killer addiction is!!!
I really feel for Max's parents as, like many others, they'll probably be blaming themselves for his death and wishing they could have done more for him. Sadly there's very little, if anything, they could have done to prevent this tragedy from happening. Once an addiction takes hold, no matter who or what you are, then it's a slippery slope down into a world that many of us just can't understand. Ronnie that's why we all feel so proud of your son. He may still be a life long addict but he's turned his life around and I have a feeling that he won't be tempted to go back now that he's re-discovered his family again and what life is like drug free.
