GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — In the way only a mother can, Theresa Adkison is still grieving for her son.
“To lose my child, that’s a pain I’ve never known,” she said.
On Jan. 8, 2018, Adkison said her son, Derek Kardos, was found outside in a park in Philadelphia. It was 16 degrees. He was clinging to life but couldn’t be resuscitated.
“He definitely had enough fentanyl in his system to kill him,” Adkison said.
After 17 years of addiction, his battle with drugs was too overwhelming. Kardos died at age 32.
Now, federal organizations are widening their efforts to help users like her son. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to award the Michigan Department of Health and Human services more than$7 millionto track overdose deaths.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Kent County epidemiologist Rachel Jantz said.
She said having that data can put a big dent in the opioid epidemic.
“When we’re talking about the opioid epidemic, we’re talking about deaths, yes, but we are also talking about nonfatal opioid overdoses that don’t arrive to the ER departments,” Jantz said. “We’re also talking about the number of naloxone (used with delivery system Narcan) administrations.”
Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is granting the state nearly$28 millionto support prevention and treatment plans.