Courtesy of the Grugan Family. Photo via CBSNews.
The heroin epidemic has brought tragedy to thousands of families, but some have found comfort in a trend quietly picking up momentum.
The Grugan family of Pennsylvania is among those who’ve donated the organs of a loved one who died from a drug overdose to help save other lives.
Eileen Grugan said her son, Charles, had checked off the organ donor box years before his death from a heroin overdose at age 33.
“He was checking it off because he believed it was the right thing to do. Not that he would ever be called on to do that. He had big dreams,” she told CBS News’ Kenneth Craig.
But an addiction to painkillers derailed those dreams and swept Charles into the nation’s opioid epidemic. He had his first pill in high school, and by age 30, he had moved on to heroin. Three years later, he overdosed in the family living room.
Learn more about the Grugan family’s story in the full article here.