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

Dear First Lady Cecilia Abbott,
My name is Sarah Chittum. My only child, Seth Eckman, died of fentanyl poisoning. Seth
was a bright funny kid who loved being the class clown and making everyone laugh. He loved
music and dancing. From a young age, Seth was a great athlete. He played baseball,
basketball, and football on select teams and successfully competed all over Texas. He
aspired to be a chef.
Two years prior to Seth‘s death he was a victim of a home invasion resulting in him being shot
multiple times. This happened during Covid, so no one was allowed at the hospital to support
him during the most scary, lonely and painful time of his life. This aided in him having severe
anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It broke him mentally. After he got
out of the hospital Seth suffered with stomach pain and cramps. He ate a lot of baby food and
would drink a lot of Boost to alleviate it. But the worst were his night terrors. Seth woke up
every night with horrible nightmares that he sweated down his bed and he had to change his
clothing as well as his bedding. This took a toll on him mentally.
As a mother it’s incredibly difficult to sit by and watch helplessly. I took Seth to the doctors and
even put him in St Joseph’s mental facility in downtown Houston. They put him on
antidepressants and blood pressure medication to help him sleep at night. They kept him for
six days. There was no therapy given. I questioned them several times about this. The
medication helped but not enough. So, Seth started self-medicating. He started smoking
marijuana. It helped ease the pain. It helped him to be able to eat without being scared, and it
helped him to sleep at night. Then he had to start doing drug tests so he couldn’t use
marijuana anymore. His condition worsened.
Seth bought a Xanax from whom he thought was a friend. He was going to his girlfriend’s
house and didn’t want to have night terrors there and sweat in her bed and I’m sure he just
wanted to get out of his misery for a while. What he didn’t ask for was fentanyl. We weren’t
even aware that this was an issue at that time. If Seth had knowledge and willfully consumed
too much of something; that’s an overdose. This deadly substance was disguised as
something else for him to unknowingly consume and that’s called poisoning. I will continue to
advocate and be Seth’s voice. My son did not die in vain.
I cannot overstate the dangers of this to you. I will never get to make new memories with my
son. I will never get to feel his arms wrapped around me in a hug. I will never get to hear his
contagious laughter. I will never see him get married or have children. I am telling you all this
because all the faces you see have a story behind them. They all had a life to live that was
cut short by this epidemic. Please consider helping us build this memorial wall for our
children! You would want your loved one honored too.
Sincerely,
Sarah Chittum
Mother to Seth Eckman
Galveston, TX
963