My daughter Aly passed away at 19 years and 10 days old.  She was our miracle baby. 

You see, we had three premature babies before her, and she finally came to us after 10 years of being married.  She was of course our pride and incredible joy.  She loved her family and wanted to be a nurse.

Aly decided to stay home instead of living away on campus because she couldn’t imagine commuting home to visit her parents, her grandma, her old dog Dice and her friends. We were so happy because we thought we could protect her more at home away from the dangers of college freshman binging and drugs.

Aly had many friends that we considered second children.  She also picked friends that she thought needed her.  We always told her she had big angel wings that she wrapped around people.  She was so forgiving and nonjudgmental. 

What a kid, she was great. There were no worries on our part. She was grounded and wonderful, until she took on a relationship with her best friend’s sister who was on pain killers and anxiety drugs. Somehow she was offered these drugs and swept into experimenting with them and along with drinking. She was not able to survive the fatal combination. 

My life will never be the same.  But one thing Aly always told me was that she didn’t want to "die for nothing."  Pretty brave I thought, and so I am hoping to live Aly’s legacy out for her by sharing her story. 

Teenagers think they are invincible and they need to know, even if they don’t seem like they are listening, that RX drugs are just as lethal as illegal drugs. We could not have saved her from this friend, because she would have adamantly protected her - with her angel wings. So, I am hoping to share this story with others in hopes of saving one life or more.

With tears, I miss Aly deeply. And with hope, I pray that other "mom's and dad's babies" can be saved.