A father and his son

19 years ago I became a single father of three. Tanner my youngest was only one at the time. It has been 17 years since any of the kids have seen their mother. As the years passed and my kids progressed through school tanner began to struggle. This began to cause some bullying. It became worse upon moving to Florence and being the new kid at school. It severely effected his confidence and self esteem but he didn’t turn to drinking or drugs to cope. He remained the kind, caring, sensitive soul he always had been. His two sisters moved out as they were starting their lives. It was just tanner and I now and we to grow very close in a way only a father and son can.

My mother was hospitalized in the midst of Covid. We were denied visitation and the ability to provide any comfort or have any last memories together. Shortly after the loss of my mother I got a severe case of Covid. I could barely breathe and was unable to speak. Tanner had to be the one to call 911 for help. I almost died in the hospital battling covid. My life was spared by the grace of God but I continued to struggle through recovery. This ended up causing me to lose my job. My company car was taken while I was in the hospital and I was not given the option of attempting to return to work.

A few months following my fight with Covid I was hit by a women running a red light while driving my daughters car. This totaled the car and almost caused me to lose my life once again.

Now after what I thought to be the hardest moments of my life I was to faced every parents worst nightmare. On July 18 2022 I lost my son, my best friends, my strength to keep me fighting anything life threw at me. His girlfriend and I found him the next day. I couldn’t continue to live in the home we shared anymore, the pain of being there without him was more than I could take. I had to move out. Since the death of my son I have been hospitalized 4 times. I can’t sleep. I can’t carry a conversation. I can’t function. I’m dying inside. I’m left thousands and thousands in debt with a stack of medical bills to add to that. I’ve had to move into a spare room leaving behind almost everything. I feel hopeless but refuse to give up.

I wanted to honor Tanner through my actions, to be an advocate of the dangers of drugs, and to spread awareness that can help save others from the same tragedy and heartbreak I’m going through.