Devastating Drug Addiction

Karen and Gordon went to the hospital, where they were asked to wait for doctors in a small, private room. "I knew what had happened because we had to go in that kind of a room and wait," she says. On July 28, 2006, Karen and Gordon were told their son was dead. When they were taken to see his body, Karen says she was surprised by what she saw. "He looked at such peace," she says. "He looked in the greatest peace that he had looked in over 10 years since this whole mess started."

Although there are differences, Karen says she can see herself in David and Nic's story. "To me, the disease of addiction is a family disease that is so insidious and so cunning and so baffling."