Family's moving tribute to young mother who died of opioid addiction sheds light on US crisis

A young mother who died as a result of opioid addiction has been memorialised by her family in a powerful obituary - shedding light on the US crisis.

Madelyn Linsenmeir, 30, died on October 7 in Vermont after a long battle with opioid addiction dating back 14 years.

Her family chose to document her life in a moving and honest obituary in which they described how addiction “brought her to places of incredible darkness.”

It said: “It is impossible to capture a person in an obituary, and especially someone whose adult life was largely defined by drug addiction. To some, Maddie was just a junkie — when they saw her addiction, they stopped seeing her. And what a loss for them.

“Because Maddie was hilarious, and warm, and fearless, and resilient. She could and would talk to anyone, and when you were in her company you wanted to stay.

“In a system that seems to have hardened itself against addicts and is failing them every day, she befriended and delighted cops, social workers, public defenders and doctors, who advocated for and believed in her 'til the end.”

The family said that Ms Linsenmeir first tried OxyContin for the first time when she was 16 after moving from Vermont to Florida to attend a performing arts school.

In 2014, she had a son Ayden, who her family say she “transformed her life to mother him.”

However Ms Linsenmeir relapsed and lost custody of her son.

Her family say that for 12 days during this summer, “she was home and for most of that time she was sober.”

The family spent time together watching Disney films and swimming however she unexpectedly died. Her sister wrote on Facebook that she died of a Staph infection as a result.

To finish, her family send a warning to those who read the obituary with judgement: “Educate yourself about this disease, because that is what it is. It is not a choice or a weakness. And chances are very good that someone you know is struggling with it, and that person needs and deserves your empathy and support.”

The moving obituary was well received with hundreds of people commenting with their own emotional responses to the obituary. Ivanka Trump also tweeted her response to the obituary.

Some chose to share stories of their brothers, sisters or children who have been affected by the disease.

One person wrote: "I do not know Maddie, but this obituary could have just as easily been written about my own daughter Jessica who lost her battle on July 28th. The only peace i will ever get from this experience is that she is no longer in pain, no longer feels the shame put on her because of her disease and its stigma."

In 2017, drug overdoses killed more than 72,000 people in the US.

Nearly 49,000 of those killed died from opioid overdoses.

According to the Guardian, it represents nearly 200 people dying from overdoses every day.