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

Dear Governor Sanders,
My name is Debbie Brown. I lost my son, Matthew Paul Zielstra, to substance use disorder on
Mother’s Day, May 14, 2017. He was 34 years old. We later learned he died from heroin laced with
fentanyl. As you might imagine, Mother’s Day has forever been ruined for me and will never be the
same even though I still have two children who do their best to help me through it each year. I can’t
tell you the loss I still feel every day.
Matthew was such a fun-loving, caring child who loved the outdoors. One memory etched into my
brain is the day when my 8-year-old Matthew brought home wild daffodils he had dug up to give to
his momma. We planted those daffodils around the tree in our turnaround area. Today, those few
daffodils have spread and now encircle the whole tree! Matthew loved baseball as a child and teen.
He lived for the sport and was such an awesome shortstop and third baseman. Nothing got by him.
We lived at the baseball fields in the summertime just loving to watch him enjoy his sport.
Matthew never met a stranger and seemed to know everyone. I have met several young people since
his death who have stopped to ask me if I was Matthew Zielstra’s mom. He was such a charismatic
young man with the most beautiful, infectious smile and piercing blue eyes that used to dance when
he was teasing me. And his hugs…oh how I miss those huge bear hugs that took my breath away. He
loved his momma. Even in the throes of addiction, he was always looking after me, telling me to take
care of myself. He couldn’t take care of himself, but he kept trying to care for me.
During one of his rehab stints, his counselor told me that Matthew was a natural leader. Everyone
looked to Matthew as the head of the group and had nominated him as their President. He told me if
Matthew were able to ever recover from his addiction, he would make a terrific drug counselor
because of his leadership skills. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and told him he wasn’t telling me
anything I didn’t already know. The problem was Matthew didn’t see it. He always felt he was in his
older brother’s shadow. Ironically, I learned after Matthew had passed, his brother, Scott, always felt
he was in Matthew’s shadow!
Matthew will never be a father. He will never get to watch his nephews and nieces grow up. He will
never meet his sister’s little boys. Tristan was born the same year Matthew passed and was almost
born on Matthew’s birthday! Matthew is gone and is never coming back. We lost a beautiful, vibrant
son, brother, grandson, uncle, and friend. Our family will never be whole again because of fentanyl.
We would love to see a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall erected in all 50 State Capitol complexes to
honor our loved ones as victims of the drug crisis in our Nation. Matthew, and every person who has
lost their life to this drug, is a victim of the Chinese and Mexican cartels. Will you help the healing by
putting up a Memorial Wall in their honor?
Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, with hopeful regards,
Debbie Brown
Conway, Arkansas
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