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

Dear First Gentleman Marlon Reis,
My name is Tara Garcia. I am 40 years old and a full-time student at Colorado
Technology University studying psychology. I am writing to you on behalf of a
broken family, community and society. There is too little awareness of reality, I
have lost so many loved ones in the last 5 years unnecessary preventable losses.
I would like to share with you a little bit of who these beautiful souls were, not the
addict behind the addiction.
My mother forever 57, had a heart so big she loved to help others and always
went the extra mile. That is the passion that drove her into the medical field. She
often received awards for her compassion and her bedside manners as well as
her skills. One night while leaving work she fell and broke her back. All her doctor
friends rushed out to assist; that was a turning point for the remainder of my
childhood, my sister's childhood and her pride and joy her grandkids and left
broken adults eventually taking her last breath.
My mom was given extra pain medication because her “friends” were her treating
physicians and there were not many doctors’ appointments, but I remember the
bottles, the nodding out, waking up in a rage, because she wouldn’t remember
falling asleep with a cigarette burning her skin, falling down the stairs, but all this
was accepted because a doctor said she needed them. They finally said, “no
more you have developed an unhealthy addiction”. I was in the hospital room
when the doctor told her that. I remember thinking you just now are seeing a
problem you feed her the addiction and helped become an addict. I remember him
saying, “but don’t worry we are going to help you get back on your feet and clean
in no time. There is a medication you can take to stop the cravings and help you
through the withdrawals.” If we only knew then what we know now I would have
changed that moment. They started her on methadone, a whole new addiction
with a deadly ending. She was worse than the pain medication no longer
functional or at least safe functional. I ended up raising my parents.
My sister was blessed and moved before it got bad. Our stepfather always had his
hand in some form of drug use and still struggles to this day. My mom wanted to
stop and tried multiple times. She and my stepfather separated, she thought that
was best for them both to get sober. My mother loved her grandkids more than life
itself and she was good to her grandkids; a grandmother like no other, but the
addiction would often interfere. At the end of her life, she did get clean from the
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