Father's Day

After being bombarded by Father's Day ads, which I mindfully ignore after losing my wonderful dad so many years ago to cancer, I thought of this picture of Brett and his father. This is my favorite picture of Brett and his dad. Those two could NOT have loved each other more. This was taken by one of Dennis' goofball fishing buddies, hence Brett's "not so enthusiastic" smile. I remember him telling me that XXX had taken his picture outside of church on Easter morning and he was none too happy about it. Regardless, I'm glad he did as I look at this picture often and remember all the happy times these two fun loving guys had together.

So I will remember on Father's Day that not only did I lose the most important person in my life but Dennis has as well. We will never be the same, the happy go lucky threesome that we were, all the way until Brett's death.

SALVIA REGULATED IN VIRGINIA JULY 1, 2008

I just received an email from a reporter in Washington, DC who informed me that my work in Virginia has paid off and that Salvia will be regulated July 1. She said "Way to go Kathy!!" but I say "Way to go, State of Virginia!!"

Now I wonder when the rest of the country is going to wake up and be as proactive as the states that have learned of Brett's story. More importantly when is the FDA and DEA going to get on the bandwagon and do what they should have long ago? If they had been doing their jobs 2 years ago maybe Brett would still be here today.

APRIL 29 - FIRST SALVIA LAW PASSES IN CA

Thanks to the hard work of Assemblyman Adams of CA the first Salvia bill, AB259 passed today in Sacramento. (Talk about a strange coincidence - the bill is the EXACT same number as our HB259, "Brett's Law" in DE!) This was a huge undertaking for him as CA is the most liberal state in the country and is much more concerned with the overcrowding of their prison system than putting a law on the books that will protect their young children and teenagers. Regardless he was able to have this bill pass the state Assembly and go on to the Senate. I was very proud to be a part of it and am grateful to him for bringing me out to California to tell the real story of Brett's demise due to Salvia. It was also wonderful to meet Dr. Samuels from Wonderland Treatment Center in LA in person and to see how passionate he is about the threat of this drug to our country. He makes me look tame!

Also, many thanks to Elizabeth, Assemblyman Adam's aide and to all the reporters, way too many to mention, who interviewed me and realized how important this story really is. I also learned, for the first time, that the initial study of Salvia on humans has just been completed and its' findings are that salvia causes depression. No surprise there as I've known that since Brett's death. Even though we didn't see it he obviously had to be suffering from it. It is such a tribute to my son's sheer strength of will that he was able to keep everything together in his last days and no one, not even his girlfriend with whom he was inseparable, knew that he was suffering so badly from his salvia use that he was contemplating taking his own life. Brett really was a warrior, who accomplished every thing he set his mind to, and even though we know he wanted nothing more than to LIVE a happy life together with Lauren, he was no match for this drug.

I really felt his presence as I spoke before the CA Senate. I could almost hear him saying "Go Mom, go!" I knew he was smiling down on me and felt his strength become mine. Brett, you are amazing, in heaven, just as you were on earth. Love you so much sweetie.