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

Dear First Lady Tracey Carney,
I am writing to you as an ambassador for the Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. My family’s home
state is MD but my brother passed away in DE. His death is what leads me to contacting you.
My brother's name is Gary Edward Koch. He is forever 37. He was the youngest of 3 children. Our
family has honestly had a very bumpy road. We lost our father to alcoholism at the young age of
50, our parents had divorced when Gary was 4yrs old. We also lost our mother to multiple
myeloma at the young age of 59. That is a lot, Gary has struggled with addiction going back to his
teen years. He was in and out of jail as well. Now from what I've said so far, many think "oh he
was just another addict". As his sister for the entire 37 years of his life, I can tell you, that is very
untrue. He had a genuine personality, a heart bigger than most, a hilarious sense of humor, a
great friend, father, son, brother, and uncle.
Now, having an addict in the family causes a lot of stress. I will admit I was hard on my brother a
lot. I did tough love for many years. I have even taken him to court for stealing from me during his
addiction. I did this as a mother trying to protect my children. This caused turmoil with our mother.
She enabled my brother, but I cannot blame her, I would do anything for my children as well. After
our mother passed, I was Gary's “go to”. We have a 6yr age difference, so I've always been a
second mom to him anyway.
The loss of Gary has really hit me hard. He passed on 2/7/22. We were in contact periodically, we
had a group text, that consisted of him, our older sister and me. It wasn't normal to not hear from
Gary for more than a week. On 1/31/22, I went into work in a panic. I had a sick sense something
was wrong; I hadn't heard from him since 1/18/22. I reached out to a few points of contacts he
had and was just told he wasn't doing well the last they heard. My sister and I continued our
search by calling hospitals to see if he was admitted. We had nothing. The night of 2/7/22, I
received a call from Gary's ex-wife saying she just heard from someone that he OD'D earlier in
the day and they were unable to save him. I can tell you; I was on my kitchen floor screaming "no"
"please no Gary" and crying inconsolably. My sister called the medical examiner, and our
nightmare was confirmed.
Addiction lies, cheats, & steals. It makes the addict mimic that behavior and it then kills the addict.
I have walked around in a fog since 2/7/22, my chest feels like I've been punched in it, I continue
to feel guilt and have nightmares of me trying to save him and failing. Those nightmares feel so
very raw, brutal and vivid they stick with me all day long. I have so much love for my brother that
is stuck inside me. I cry often and out of the blue.
Please help find a spot for a wall to be displayed. Dealers need to be charged for homicide in my
opinion. How they sell these drugs and walk free is unreal to me. They stole my brother; his son
and daughter are now without him. He has missed so much and hasn't been gone for 2 years yet.
Thank you for taking time to read this. I am very passionate about overdose awareness and have
a strong belief this epidemic needs serious attention for a change to happen.
Together these families and the state leaders can make a difference!
Sincerely,
Crystal Daugherty, Baltimore, MD
1055