Kelley May Smith

Although Kelley was my husband's ex-wife, she and I developed a friendship. As the mother of my stepchildren, I felt it would be beneficial if we all got along for the benefit of the kids. She was a devoted mother and grandmother.

You would probably never look at Kelley and see someone who had a problem with pain pills, benzos, or muscle relaxers. For all intents and purposes, she appeared to be a typical mom who devoted her life to her children and grandson. Kelley had a dependency to pain pills that she recognized and tried to treat. She tried suboxone treatment several times but the doctors she sought treatment from were unreliable. She knew she had a problem, but at times, the pain she suffered was too much. When she passed, she was seeing a pain doctor again and had a prescription for strong pain killers.

The day she passed, Kelley had taken the same combination of medications nearly every day. No one expected that this time she would not wake. Her daughter Kayla tried in vain to resuscitate her mother. This loss is with us every day. Her children miss their mother, and the loss has cast a shadow that will never lift.