Joel

Hi my name is Jamie, I lost my brother Joel (34) on Friday May 18th 2018 to an accidental overdose. I had just gotten to work when my supervisor asked to talk to me. I knew right then something was wrong. I walked into a conference room & there was a police officer. I lost it. Joel had a difficult road he started using opioids probably about 9-10 years ago when he was experiencing difficulty with his marriage. He was one to hold in his emotions & never wanted to be a burden. He always held his head up high and was smiling even through the pain he felt. He had the biggest heart & would help anybody. He never judged a single soul & actually became friends with a lot of people who were picked on or bullied. He loved racing, demo derbies, music, hunting, fishing, and just being outdoors. The past 2-3 yrs he started injecting and got arrested for DUIs. He spent time in jail for about a year in & out. He actually just got out April 20th after spending 8 months there. He was sentenced a year but worked his butt off to get out early. The itch was too much, he said he felt sick the wed before he passed away & was gone Friday. The amount of messages my family got from his friends was amazing. He was very loved & inspired a lot of people. He left behind my parents who tried so hard to help him, my older sister, 1 niece, & 2 nephews. We are all heartbroken and want to help others going through this horrible disease.