WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Commerce Committee today released the fifth video from its “Personal Stories from the Opioid Crisis" video series.
The first video, published last month, highlighted participants from a recent roundtable discussion hearing directly from individuals who have felt the devastating effects of this epidemic. A few days later, viewers were introduced to Aimee Manzoni D’Arpino, a participant from the roundtable. Aimee shared the story of her son, Emmett, who lost his battle with substance use disorder in 2016. Since then, viewers met Devon Hott, and Lisa and Ken Daniels. Devon is a young woman currently in long-term recovery, and Lisa and Ken lost their son, Jamie, to a fentanyl-laced heroin overdose.
The video released today features Michael Gray, who tells the story of his daughter. Amanda had a mental illness, where she struggled with acute borderline personality disorder. Michael explained that Amanda’s illness often left her in tremendous pain, which led to her self-medicating herself.
Overtime, that self-medication led to Amanda turning to heroin.
“My daughter Amanda was somewhere short of her 15th time - in her life - using heroin, when she was killed by pure fentanyl," reflected Michael. “…An intermittent user, she had neither the resistance to fentanyl exposure, nor the experience to know that she was ingesting pure fentanyl that fateful morning."
Citing the potency and heightened danger of fentanyl, Michael stated, “…that night, six other people in the same city died - most likely from the same mix that just got a bit too strong and got away from the dealer."
“It really can hit any family," stressed Michael. And it’s why we must press on in our fight to combat the opioid crisis.