Indiana mother who lost children to fentanyl poisoning 8 months apart vows to fight back – NBC Chicago

The opioid crisis hit one northwest Indiana mother especially hard. Within a year of each other, she lost not one, but two adult children.

“Taylor’s death broke me. It destroyed me,” Nicole Skertich cried. “Then when I lost my son, it killed me. It killed me.”

Mother’s Day marks a painful reminder for Skertich, who is now trying to live without her daughter and son.

Skertich invited NBC Chicago to her home in Crown Point, Indiana, to share her story and show photos of her children, who both struggled with addiction and died just eight months apart.

“A lot of people think it’s because of an overdose, but in reality they’re just dying from poisoning,” she said.

Taylor was 22 years old. Kyle was 25 years old.

“It makes me sick,” Skertich said, “sick that nothing is being done for any of the families, you know, because their lives matter.”

As Skertich relives the pain of losing Taylor and Kyle daily, she is committed to raising awareness about fentanyl poisoning in her community.

“I want these dealers to be held accountable, because they know what they’re selling and they know it’s poison,” she said.

According to the Lake County Coroner’s Office, 43 overdose deaths have been reported so far this year, including 29 linked to fentanyl. Last year, the coroner’s office said there were 170 overdose cases, 143 of them linked to fentanyl.

“It’s scary,” said Patty Stovall, who started Sounds of Sarah in memory of her daughter who died of fentanyl poisoning. “It’s really scary what’s happening here in our backyard.”

“We of course need to educate our community, but our government needs to do something more,” Stovall said.

Stovall is pushing for greater access to Narcan in Lake County. Skertich hopes to reach more families on social media. The two mothers are now united in their fight to get out of the crisis.

“I hope other parents don’t stay silent,” Skertich said. “(Drug dealers) are poisoning people, and to me that’s murder.”

Sounds of Sarah is hosting its second annual “We Fight Together” at Wicker Park in Highland, Indiana.

Organizers said the goal of the 3K Walk/Run event is to combat the stigma of addiction, raise awareness and educate the public about the crisis. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.