Helping the Gerner Family

A really great family lost their son to this horrible epidemic. The Gerner family is an amazing family full of love. Dakota was a good sweet funny and amazing kid who is no longer with us physically. He had a laugh that was so contagious and was one of those guys that would make you laugh til you had tears in your eyes. He was a fighter! He battled his demons for a long time and struggled to fight addiction time and time again, hoping each time would be his last time and that he could find his way to recovery and happiness. The drugs out there take over and try to smother every last bit of the real and true person inside. It truly cripples a person and brings them to their knees and forces them to believe that they are unworthy of anything good in life. It makes them believe that the drug are the most important thing in the world to keep them alive. This is what Coty battled on a daily basis and he gave a strong fight. There is nothing more painful to loved ones then seeing this battle happen right in front of your face. You see your baby boy fighting to be the person they want to be and get away from the person the drug has forced them to be and it was very hard for the Gerner’s to watch their son go through this but they stayed by his side providing hope and love. The fight is not an easy one in any way. To watch your child battle these demons and break down in so much pain saying this is not what they want and this is not how they want to be is debilitating for a parent. To hear your child say the words “ I just want to be normal” is a pain that is hard to get through.
Addiction is one of the hardest things to battle in life. It’s hard to just put it down walk away and never look back. It has it strong abilities to creep back in when you aren’t looking. Addiction is a true battle and so many good sweet loving people are losing their lives trying to find their way to recovery. Please, if you know someone whose child is battling addiction reach out to them. They need support, they need help! There are so many families suffering in silence afraid of judgements and shame. If you come across someone who is suffering with addiction please, plant the seed that life don’t have to be this way and guide them towards hope. The Gerner’s are dealing with this will never be the same. Addiction has changed their lives and they grieve. If you know someone who has lost their child to addiction please, reach out and let them know you are there and will grieve with them....no judgements. You see, addiction don’t just kill the addict.....it destroys the entire family and they are all battling to find life,hope and happiness again.
Coty may no longer be here physically but his loving spirit will be in the hearts of everyone he has touched.
Please help the Gerner family during this difficult time. The Gerner family is always out there helping the homeless and addicted find hope and now it is our turn to do the same for them. Help them to hold their head up high and be able to do all that is needed for Coty in his passing.