WHEN YOUR CHILD IS ADDICTED

Linda Chavez sat in the living room of her home in Doney Park and
stared at the over-sized photograph of her daughter, Kimberly
Russell. The bright eyes and toothy smile beaming from the photo beg
for a poem dedicated to the promise of a bright future. "That was a
really happy day," Chavez said. "I thought God took that picture
because she never looked like that. I'm glad I have that as a memory of her."

Just three months after the photo was taken at Chavez's wedding to
her husband Tony, Kimberly would be dead at the age of 20 -- that
promise reflected in her eyes and smile unfulfilled.

The official cause of death, Chavez said, was liver failure due to
accidental Vicodin intoxication. Kimberly had been addicted to
prescription pain medication and meth.

Chavez would like to offer her daughter's life as a stark reminder
that parents all over the country are struggling with children
addicted to drugs. Her message is simple: You are not alone, and
never give up while your children are still alive.

Northern Arizona offers a number of treatment options and support
services for drug and alcohol addiction (see related story, Page A11).

Kimberly died Sept. 1, 2005. The time was 4:15 p.m. She had been in a
coma nine days before her mother took her off life support.

"I didn't want her kept alive like that," Chavez said.

The day Kimberly was admitted to the hospital, she complained of a
variety of body ailments. Two days after she was admitted, she sank
into the coma from which she would never awaken.

"She took too many Vicodin," Chavez said.

Her liver had been compromised by the compounds found in the narcotic
drug to relieve pain.

"She had pain problems her whole life," Chavez said. The pain was
associated with migraines, "female problems" and problems with her
stomach. "She was in pain all the time."

The damage caused by the pills required Kimberly to have a new liver,
but doctors would not sign off on it because she had a history of not
following through on doctor recommendations, Chavez said.

"She was pegged as 'drug seeking'" Chavez said. But that term refers
to people who do not feel pain and want the drugs anyway. Kimberly
had legitimate pain.

"She'd tell me, 'But Mom, I don't do heroin. It's not that bad,'"
Chavez said. "Unfortunately, she didn't need as many drugs as she took."

Normally, if a prescription called for two pills, Kimberly would take five.

Addicted To Meth

Kimberly's drug problems weren't just with pain medication, Chavez
said. She also had a problem with methamphetamine -- a highly
addictive, powerful stimulant that makes users "high" for more than
eight hours.

Kimberly maintained a strong denial to her drug addiction.

"She would say, 'No, I'm not using drugs, mom,'" Chavez said.

The meth made the headaches go away, Chavez said Kimberly told her
when she finally admitted to using drugs.

Then came dropping out of school, the arrests, the rehabs, the visits
to the Alternatives Center for troubled teens, a rape, stealing from
her mother, hanging out with dangerous people and drug dealers.

Kimberly even got Chavez kicked out of her apartment because of her
behavior on meth.

"When she was using, she didn't care who you were, where you were,"
Chavez said.

Kimberly moved to Prescott just months before her death to escape the
meth scene in Flagstaff. But even though she was in a drug-free
environment, was going to substance-abuse meetings and had a sponsor,
Kimberly still thought prescription drugs were acceptable, Chavez said.

But she'd been doing well, trying to be sober. She had apparently
kicked the meth. Kimberly was thinking about taking classes that
would allow her to work with children, and to get her
general-equivalency diploma, Chavez said.

She even made amends to Chavez for stealing all her good jewelry and
pawning it for drugs.

"She was trying. Her life was turning around, but she didn't know the
medication would kill her," Chavez said. "Just because they're not
heroin, cocaine or speed, they're just as deadly."

Pain Reliever Is Deadly

According to medical resources, Vicodin is a combination of
hydrocodone, an opiate, and acetaminophen, a pain reliever.
Acetaminophen taken above recommended dosages over an extended period
of time can cause liver failure.

Vicodin use can also lead to physical and emotional dependency.

"What I'd like to see on a Vicodin label is, 'If you take this many
pills, you will die,'" Chavez said.

Chavez remembered Kimberly as being able to listen to people and
figure out what ails them. She had a gift at it. She loved children
and animals and was ferociously dedicated to fearlessly standing up
to injustice she perceived.

"She had so much good about her," Chavez said.

But Kimberly also had a "forceful personality," Chavez said.

"She was tough, and she was an angry kid," Chavez said. The rape
Kimberly experienced when she was 15 by some boys her age, and the
fact that her biological father was not in her life, scarred her. And
Kimberly did not want to deal with her issues, Chavez said.

When the meth and the stealing came around, the relationship between
mother and daughter became more and strained.

She'd yell, and she'd hit herself when confronted, leaving Chavez not
knowing what to do.

"And I had just given up," Chavez said. "I had become so callous to
her shenanigans."

Chavez then started calling the police.

Be There With Tough Love

What is her advice for parents watching their children slowly waste
away to drug addiction?

"You've got to love them and try to offer them help and be there for
them," Chavez said.

Like her, other parents of drug-addicted children want to do anything
for their children, to help them, to see them through the dark hours.

"But they'll lie and steal and then help you look for it," Chavez said.

At an early age, parents should continually offer alternatives to
their children. Not just in terms of educating children about the
dangers of drugs, but also fostering healthy self-esteem so they can
avoid peer pressure, Chavez said.

And make sure they have plenty of other interests, whatever that
might be. It could be sports, or arts, or academics; it doesn't matter.

"Encourage your kids to talk," Chavez added. So often, teenagers and
young adults go so deep inside themselves and do not reveal to their
loved ones what is happening.

And, even if parents aren't religious, it never hurts to pray, she said.

Chavez said her faith helped her let her daughter go.

"I know I will see her again and God said, 'You've suffered enough
and it's time for you to go,'" Chavez said.

Not Home For The Holidays

This holiday season is not the first without Kimberly.

Last Thanksgiving, Kimberly was in jail. She was in jail for New
Year's Day, too.

Chavez said she still thinks of her daughter on her way home from
work. She used to call Kimberly during that time.

"To not be able to talk to her -- that's very hard," Chavez said.
"I'm angry and sad. I'm angry at her, but I've forgiven her."

Chavez said she would like to see more services available for
families of drug addicts. To her knowledge, she only knows of grief
support provided by local agencies.

Chavez had Kimberly's body cremated. Some of Kimberly's ashes were
put in her grandfather's pool, on the grounds of her grandmother's
church, and in a locket that hangs around Chavez's neck.

"A part of her is always with me," she said.