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SALT LAKE CITY — Heroin is affecting more Utah families after use of the drug started to rise six years ago.
Although thousands of Utahns have suffered heartache and death associated with heroine, one Utah family is sending a message to other families who find themselves in a cycle of addiction.
A drug like heroin doesn't just ravage the user's life, it systematically takes families apart too. Today, one family shared the story of their struggle with their son's addiction — and his death.
Remembering Adam Schultz puts a smile on his mom’s and dad's faces, even though he smiles back only in photographs now. But there are also painful memories of how addiction changed all their lives and stole his.
“He liked to work on old cars — we worked on cars together. He was a lot of fun; he was a great kid. A lot of fun to be around, a lot of people wanted to be around him,” Adam’s father Mike Schutlz said.
Yet Adam was one of a growing number of teenagers and adults in Utah swept up in heroin addiction.
“How he got mixed up in it we don't know,” said Adam’s mother Darlene Schultz. “So that was very hard on all of us that he ended up where he ended up, because we were a good family. This isn't supposed to happen.”
But the signs were there. Once active at family events, Adam withdrew. Like most families struggling with addiction, there were painful incidents of lying and stealing and fighting over treatment.
“We tried everything. We forced him into rehab, several times,” Mike said. “We thought we could just flip a switch and he could get off of it, and it was just impossible. So difficult for him — we just wanted him to stop."
It threatened to destroy them, but Adam eventually fought hard for his life.
He volunteered with Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness, and being open and honest about his addiction helped the whole family.
“It doesn't keep things secret and shut down, it begins to open the door to say help is possible you can get better,” said Mary Jo McMillen of the Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness.
But stress sparked a relapse for Adam in November 2012, and he overdosed and died.
Even though it’s hard, his mom said talking about it helps.
“His poor choices were not my fault. And it's hard, because you look back and think, ‘I coulda, woulda, shoulda, done this or that,’ and really his poor choices were not my fault,” Darlene said.
Addiction specialists say families that find themselves with a loved one hooked on heroin, or anything else, should treat it like a disease, a brain disorder or an illness. That will prepare them to handle the incredible stress that's going to be part of that person's recovery.
