His daughter dead with a needle in her arm, a grief-stricken father has responded to his loss in an unusual way. He has disclosed the heroin addiction of his oldest daughter — Molly Alice Parks of Manchester, New Hampshire — and pleaded with the loved ones of addicts to get them help.
In a poignant obituary, the parents of Parks said she died last Thursday after a five-year ordeal with heroin. She was 24, a young woman who was an accident-prone driver and enjoyed theater, fashion and Harry Potter novels.
She had enrolled in three treatment programs since August and completed one, said her father, Tom Parks, a salesman of construction materials in Saco, Maine. Molly’s mother, Patti Michaud Parks, lives in Berlin.
Molly was found dead on the afternoon of April 16 in the women’s room of Portland Pie Co., a downtown restaurant where she worked.
“You try withholding, you try giving, you try cajoling, you try being mean, you try everything. Nothing works,” Parks said Tuesday. News of Molly’s death has spread on the Internet and social media.
Her obituary has gotten 175 shares on Facebook, Parks said. And a video tribute to Parks has been seen 11,000 times, said Michael Flynn, a funeral director with the Cremation Society of New Hampshire.
Flynn said the Cremation Society, which has four locations across New Hampshire, handles an average of 10 overdose deaths a week.
“It’s a big problem. It’s really out of control,” he said.
On Monday, Manchester police said they have logged approximately 24 possible drug overdose deaths since Jan. 1. Police have responded to 163 calls involving overdoses. The vast majority of those calls — 88 percent — involve heroin or Fentanyl.
Parks said his daughter nearly overdosed last August. She entered three programs, the last one a 58-day treatment and transitional living program at Phoenix House in Keene. But as soon as she got out, she wanted to use heroin again. Something as simple as a television show would trigger her desire, he said.
She thought people who used addiction treatment drugs such as methadone and suboxone were weak, he said.
“I think Molly did want to get clean, but the heroin was too much,” Parks said. He last saw Molly three days before she died. She looked fantastic and said she was clean, but Parks said addicts are notorious liars.
He said Molly never fit the stereotype of a heroin addict. A petite 5 foot, 2 inches, she worked 55 hours a week, most recently delivering pizzas. She paid for a car, rent and a drug habit.
Parks said his daughter smoked marijuana, but he doesn’t think it led her to heroin. A friend started her on pills, which included Oxycontin. They crushed and snorted the pills, which led to needles and morphine.
“It turned out heroin was so much cheaper,” he said.
Parks said he realized it was possible his daughter could die from heroin, but he never expected it.
“You never think,” he said, “your kids will die before you.”
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