Kathy Ann Noonan honors her son Christopher, a skater molested at 11, whose addiction stemmed from trauma and a bike accident, not a choice.
She stood with other grieving parents in Pennsylvania, holding onto memories of her son, Christopher, who was so much more than the addiction that took his life.
After 10 years of her son’s passing, Kathy took to her Facebook to argue against the stigma surrounding addiction.
She highlighted that it’s not a choice or a parental failure but a complex issue often triggered by circumstances like trauma or medical treatment.
Kathy started the post saying, “he was a son a brother an uncle and nephew a grandson a friend he loved to fish he was an inline speed skater and he is our son.“
She went to shed light on the scenario of how people still fall behind in education when it comes to addiction. Kathy says:
Nobody wakes up and says, ‘I’m going to become an addict.
Kathy Ann Noonan
Christopher’s story didn’t start with addiction. It began with a childhood shattered at 11 years old when he was molested by a man named Eugene Matisco.
Kathy and her family fought for justice, resulting in Matisco’s arrest. However, the system let them down.
“He got to slap on the rest and 60 days later he was back on the street continuing to find victims,” Kathy said with frustration still raw.
After the bitter experience, at 15, Christopher suffered a terrible bike accident. He broke his nose, gashed his forehead, and damaged his occipital nerves.
The severe bike accident led him to have such excruciating pain that doctors prescribed him pain medication. And from there, addiction took hold.
She wants people to understand that addiction isn’t a choice or a failure of parenting. It’s a trap that can catch anyone, and especially someone like Christopher, who was dealing with trauma and unbearable pain.
Kathy pointed to the movie Dopesick, starring Michael Keaton, as a way for people to learn about how painkillers, which are pushed by companies like the Sacklers’ Purdue Pharma, have ruined countless lives.
With anger aimed at those who profited from the opioid crisis, Kathy asks,
How about a pain medication that doesn’t destroy families?
Kathy Ann Noonan
For 10 years, Kathy has lived with the grief of losing Christopher. And it was made worse by the stigma surrounding addiction. She said:
The comments that I read over the 10 years since we lost our son.. are judgmental hurtful.
Kathy Ann Noonan
People look at addicts and see failure, but Kathy sees her son, a boy who endured more than most could handle, who deserved better than a world quick to judge and slow to help.
Kathy said she’s tired from the crying and the loneliness of being a bereaved mother, saying:
me for one I’m tired .. my soul is tired from hurting, crying
Kathy Ann Noonan
That said, she has turned that pain into purpose, reaching out to support other mothers who’ve lost children to addiction.
“It’s a lonely place,” she concluded the post, but she’s determined to be there for others.
