A bereaved sibling has shared heartbreaking pictures of her opium addict sister at a funeral home taken ten months apart showing her both alive and dead.
The first image of Lexus Felton, 21, from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, showed her posing next to her grandmother’s coffin in March 2018 but only a short while later in December of 2018 she was being laid to rest after overdosing on heroin.
Lexus’s sister Chrystal Charlesworth, 24, wrote on Facebook: ’10 year challenge? Let’s talk about a (almost) 10 MONTH challenge.’
She continued: ‘Picture one was taken March of 2018 at my grandmothers funeral. The second picture was taken December of 2018 at my sisters funeral.
‘In both pictures my sister, Lexus, is in the exact same church room, wearing the exact same shirt, and laying in the exact same kind of casket my grandmothers in.
‘Little did I know that when I took the first picture of my inappropriately hilarious, charismatic little sister that it would end up having such a surreal meaning behind it just a few short months later.’
Chrystal explained how her sister managed to stay sober during her grandmother’s funeral but she was an addict at that time and was also on probation after being arrested for drugs possession.
In a desperate attempt to get Lexus off the drugs her mom, Christy, took her to her probation officer in April and she was jailed for three and a half months after admitting she had been taking heroin.
‘Lexus abided willingly because she genuinely wanted the help and I truly believe in my heart that she wanted to stay clean,’ her sister said.
She stayed in prison as she waited for a bed to open up at a rehabilitation center in Philadelphia her mom had chosen.
Lexus was eventually transferred there in August and completed three months of therapy and rehabilitation before returning home.
‘My family and I were SO excited and happy to have her back, as she was to be home,’ Chrystal said.
‘My sister would have only 37 full days left with us. On the 38th day she would die of a heroin overdose.’
Chrystal continued: ‘Out of those 38 days she only used for three of them. It only took THREE days of using again.
‘It only took one last hit for her body to go into cardiac arrest and ultimately cause her to take her last breath. ‘
‘My sister died somewhere between 5:40AM-6:00AM (December 8). She was to be home at 7AM, just an hour later.’
Chrystal said she was sharing the ‘uncomfortable’ pictures to shine a light on the problem of opioid addiction.
‘Opioid addiction is a national crisis! It is an epidemic! In one single hour, eight people will die from an opioid overdose,’ she said.
‘Will someone you love be one of those unlucky eight? Will YOU be one of them? I know I never thought I’d be someone who had to go through the reality of burying someone I love due to this issue.’
She continued: ‘And I hate that more people will have to going forward. Please, use my sister as an example. Use her story to fear taking that next hit or use it as motivation to confront your loved one about their addiction.’
‘It’s not okay to ignore this problem or to pretend like you’re better than this to have an impact on you the way that it has for me. Lets be real, no one is safe these days from this affecting them.
‘Maybe you aren’t an addict BUT maybe your sister is, maybe it’s your dad, friend, coworker, or neighbor who is secretly addicted. “Junkies” don’t always look the way that we think or see in movies.
‘Addiction hides in the everyday faces all around us.. So, let’s keep talking about this issue and raising awareness. Please, feel free to share. There are many out there who need to face this reality.’
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SOURCE: Daily Mail
