'Completely overwhelmed': Fentanyl, pandemic fuel record opioid overdose deaths
DAVID WAHLBERG
Updated
Margaret Sweet keeps her son Aidan's shoes and coat in her home on Madison's West Side. Aidan Sweet, a 17-year-old West High School student, died in August 2020 from an overdose involving fentanyl, a dangerous opioid. COVID-19 isolation and an increased presence of fentanyl in other drugs have spurred record opioid overdoses in Wisconsin.
As a student at West High School in Madison, Aidan Sweet started buying opioid pills on the street, saying they calmed his anxiety and helped him sleep, his parents said.
After her son died from an overdose involving fentanyl, Margaret Sweet set up the Aidan Sweet Isintu Foundation to help other parents and children wrestling with substance abuse. "It's a terrible crisis," she said.
Lorre Kolb said her daughter, Lily, who died from an overdose involving fentanyl in April 2021, had made an appointment with her doctor to start addiction treatment the next day. "When someone's willing to do treatment, it needs to be immediate," she said.
Liliana "Lily" Kolb died at the age of 20 from an overdose involving fentanyl on April 1, 2021, just before she was to start treatment. Her mother, Lorre Kolb, recalls her daughter's struggles with addiction.
Lorre Kolb, beside mementos of her daughter Lily and an urn containing her remains, said she was a "very complex person" who struggled with substance abuse and trying to feel loved.
Aidan Sweet, who went to St. James School and Toki and Cherokee Heights middle schools, traveled to more than 20 countries, including to South Africa, his mother's native country.
Margaret Sweet said she didn't know her son Aidan was using opioid pills until June 2020, when she found some in his bedroom. Two months later, he died from an overdose involving fentanyl.
Margaret Sweet keeps her son Aidan's shoes and coat in her home on Madison's West Side. Aidan Sweet, a 17-year-old West High School student, died in August 2020 from an overdose involving fentanyl, a dangerous opioid. COVID-19 isolation and an increased presence of fentanyl in other drugs have spurred record opioid overdoses in Wisconsin.
After her son died from an overdose involving fentanyl, Margaret Sweet set up the Aidan Sweet Isintu Foundation to help other parents and children wrestling with substance abuse. "It's a terrible crisis," she said.
Lorre Kolb said her daughter, Lily, who died from an overdose involving fentanyl in April 2021, had made an appointment with her doctor to start addiction treatment the next day. "When someone's willing to do treatment, it needs to be immediate," she said.
Lorre Kolb, beside mementos of her daughter Lily and an urn containing her remains, said she was a "very complex person" who struggled with substance abuse and trying to feel loved.
Aidan Sweet, who went to St. James School and Toki and Cherokee Heights middle schools, traveled to more than 20 countries, including to South Africa, his mother's native country.
Margaret Sweet said she didn't know her son Aidan was using opioid pills until June 2020, when she found some in his bedroom. Two months later, he died from an overdose involving fentanyl.
