USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Cathy Justice:
I am an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. This is a 50-state initiative to have a
memorial wall erected on the grounds of each state capitol, in remembrance of the thousands of
people who have lost their lives due to the epidemic of fentanyl poisonings that have ravaged this
country.
I lost my son, Kevin Sherk, on January 27, 2022, to fentanyl poisoning. He is forever 28. He was
truly an amazing person. He had a smile that would light up a room. He was so caring and kind,
the kind of person who would do anything for you. You would often hear him singing in our house
to his favorite country song.
Kevin suffered with an addiction to pain pills and had been living with me in South Carolina for a
while. He decided to go to West Virginia to visit his father’s family for the weekend. At 11:30 the
night of January 27, I got a phone call from my oldest son. He said, “Mom, Kevin is gone.” I said
“He is gone where? Oh, he is on the way back to South Carolina?” He said, “No Mom, Kevin is
dead.” And my world ended at that moment.
My last phone call from my son was that Friday to tell me he made it safe to WV. I tried all day on
Saturday to reach him and was unable to get hold of him. I learned later that his friends let him
lay on the couch at his friend’s home all day and continued to walk past him without checking on
him. When they finally did check on him his lips were blue, and he was not responsive. My son
had been dead at least 6 hours before the paramedics arrived.
Fentanyl killed my son. I believe that he thought he was taking a pain pill and did not know it was
laced with fentanyl. He left behind his family, which includes the two little girls he loved so much.
They will have to grow up without their father. I miss him beyond words.
Mrs. Justice, will you assist us in finding a place on the capitol grounds to erect a memorial wall
that helps us pay tribute to our family members who died as victims of a war they didn’t intend to
fight? Our lost loved ones are victims, of the war started by Purdue Pharma, and then continued
by the Mexican and Chinese cartels. We have created two digital walls: one with photos and one
with names, inspired by the Vietnam Memorial. These walls will update automatically
A group of moms would love to meet with you in person to discuss what we can do to honor our
loved ones and make this wall a reality. We look forward to seeing you in person.
Sincerely,
Petra Buschhausen, Pickens, South Carolina
Kevin Forever 28, died in Nitro, West Virginia
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