What would they do differently?
Two families’ harrowing tale of heroin addiction may help prevent damage to others.
The powerful three-part series “The Damage Done” that debuted last Sunday is a must read for parents, and for their teens. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to two suburban mothers, Ginger Mumpower and Robin Roth, for laying bare their harrowing trials in trying to break the choke-hold that opiate addiction had on their beloved sons. We thank them for their courage to speak with writer Beth Macy and for the risk they took in opening themselves further to public scrutiny.
Their stories, though, do not invite judgment, not in the least. Rather, they lay open the secrets that so many wish to tuck away: Children from good homes who go to good schools can be sucked into a bad world, and often the downward spiral begins in their parents’ medicine chest. Leftover prescriptions for pain pills tempt far too many youngsters to experiment. And heroin is prevalent here in the Roanoke Valley, even in the nicest of neighborhoods.
September 9, 2012 - 8:02 AM
Thank you for sharing this story. My heart goes out to both of these moms. Being a mom myself, and having children about the same age as these moms, I can feel their pain for what both have gone through. Thank you for sharing both of their struggles. I have so much appreciation and respect for these two moms. I have often asked myself the question that if we could go back in time, what would I do different. We raise our children in the best way that we know how. We cannot go back and say “what if”. God blessed us with our children. We will always love them, no matter what. We can encourage them, stand behind them and love them, but we should not punnish ourselves for what they do. They have their own personalities and they have to make their own decisions. We can only hope and pray that they will make good decisions. Thank you both for sharing your courageous stories and thank you Roanoke Times for sharing it.