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

Dear First Lady Casey DeSantis,
It is hard to put into so few words what a wonderful person Patrick “Quinn” Hofmann
was. Quinn had one brother and three sisters. Quinn was a protector, the fixer, and
the kindest soul you could ever meet! He loved life, his family, and he wasn’t
prepared to die at age 38. Quinn was an Army Iraqi War Veteran, who served his
country with honor for 9 years. He loved the military life and the camaraderie that
came along with it. Due to an injury while in Iraq, Quinn was offered a medical
discharge. He was convinced this was the best for him. When he left the Army and
began transitioning back into the civilian world, he lost the camaraderie he once had
with his military family. He began a complicated and difficult journey to find that
same sense of belonging; he wanted that unbreakable bond. Instead of friendship,
time after time he fell in with the wrong crowd and relationships. Quinn had injured
his back during his time in service and his injuries were considered inoperable and
would worsen with time. He was prescribed a narcotic pain medication to help with
his pain. A few years into the medication making his pain tolerable, stricter
prescription laws were passed. The VA could no longer prescribe the medication he
had become so dependent on using. He tried to deal with the pain, but he ended up
turning to the streets to buy these street pills. With the back injury coupled with
PTSD, he did not know how to function without a way of numbing himself. These
drugs gave him the ability to exist in his own world without the stress, pain, and
anxiety he felt without them. There were many sleepless nights for our family during
his active addiction. We knew that he loved us, that he didn’t want to die -- but we
also knew his addiction was more powerful than anything we were capable of
fighting on our own.
After an arrest for some stolen goods, I was able to get him into a court in this area
called “VA Court”. This court was established to get veterans back on track.
Eventually, as Quinn’s mother I pleaded with the VA Court to place Quinn into a
residential rehab and work towards a recovery rather than just punishment time and
time again. Luckily the judge agreed, and Quinn was placed in a 17-month
residential program to get him into recovery called Pathways for Change. This was
the miracle we were ALL waiting for!
Now, let’s fast forward. Quinn was clean for nearly 3 years after completing his
program. He was healthy, he was clean, and his life was heading in the direction he
always wanted it to. Everything was finally falling into place for him, and we were all
so proud of him! There were bumps in the road, yes – because Quinn was still the
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