Delaney Farrell was a young and beautiful 23-year-old woman with her whole life ahead of her. She loved to laugh and make other people laugh.
Brian Farrell
Unfortunately Delaney also was addicted to heroin—a source of evil that led to her death by overdose on Saturday, July 1.
She is survived by both of her parents, Brian and Bridget Farrell, her older sister and younger brother.
“She knew what her monster was,” Brian said in a Facebook video about his daughter. “She knew she was battling it.”
It’s a battle that Delaney knew far too well, as she detailed the struggles of being addicted to heroin in a poem she left behind.
Facebook Video
Bridget included the poem in her daughter’s obituary as a powerful voice of awareness:
“Funny, I don’t remember no good dope days. I remember walking for miles in a dope fiend haze. I remember sleeping in houses that had no electric. I remember being called a junkie, but I couldn’t accept it. I remember hanging out in abandos that were empty and dark. I remember shooting up in the bathroom and falling out at the park. I remember nodding out in front of my sisters kid. I remember not remembering half of the things that I did. I remember the dope man’s time frame, just ten more minutes. I remember those days being so sick that I just wanted to end it. I remember the birthdays and holiday celebrations. All the things I missed during my incarceration. I remember overdosing on my bedroom floor. I remember my sisters cry and my dad having to break down the door. I remember the look on his face when I opened my eyes, thinking today was the day that his baby had died. I remember blaming myself when my mom decided to leave. I remember the guilt I felt in my chest making it hard to breathe. I remember caring so much but not knowing how to show it. and I know to this day that she probably don’t even know it. I remember feeling like I lost all hope. I remember giving up my body for the next bag of dope. I remember only causing pain, destruction and harm. I remember the track marks the needles left on my arm. I remember watching the slow break up of my home. I remember thinking my family would be better off if I just left them alone. I remember looking in the mirror at my sickly completion. I remember not recognizing myself in my own Damn reflection. I remember constantly obsessing over my next score but what I remember most is getting down on my knees and asking God to save me cuz I don’t want to do this no more !!! “
In the video, Brian and Bridget open up about doing everything in their power to help their daughter become free from the addiction.
Rehabilitation centers and therapy were only the beginning, and nothing helped.
“I knew my child was in trouble, I tried to save her,” said Brian.
As the family moves forward and mourns the death of the fun-loving and outgoing woman Delaney was, Bridget has found peace in knowing that her daughter is now Home.
“The thing that comforts me is that she did believe [in God],” said Bridget. “She is now where she is supposed to be.”
Share Delaney’s story today, and help us spread awareness about the rapidly growing opioid epidemic.
I know there were a lot of you that couldn’t make it earlier today but really wanted to be there. So I didn’t want you to not see this. If I missed tagging anyone, feel free to share it or tag them, I don’t want anyone to feel left out or thinking I forgot them.
I know Del’s all over the media and the tragedy behind our loss is a very real lesson to be learned, and hopefully it motivates people to seek whatever help they need. I also want to remind everyone that reads her words, shares her story, or watches the news that Delaney Farrell was so much more than a trending topic, and although, yes, she was a drug addict, that that is not ALL that she was. She was held close by so many, so I hope that in our grief that you keep her in your heart and in your memory as I do.
Posted by Shawn Cooper on Saturday, July 8, 2017
