Category Archives: Death of a Child

Death of a Child, Homicide, Sudden Death, The Mary Mac Show

The Mary Mac Show | Death By Fentanyl Podcast Series | The Pharmacist Dan Schneider’s Son Danny Part I

Leave a comment

#murder #danschneider #thepharmacist #netflix

In Episode 208, Part I, I speak with Dan Schneider of the Netflix Series “The Pharmacist” about his son Danny’s murder by a drug dealer.

Danny Schneider as a baby

We discussed how he and his family had to work hard to obtain justice for his son’s murder.

Although law enforcement was involved, they did not always do their job.

Danny Schneider

Frustrated, because of the stigma involved which was widespread in 1999, Dan did what he could to find the killer.

In a twist of events, the person he thought was a witness, wound up being the killer.

Danny and his Girlfriend

And the Aunt of the killer would be the individual who only two days after the killing, had called Crime Stoppers, left a clear message on their telephone line, yet police never followed up.

We talk at length of how this all came together.

The Schneider Family and Danny’s Girlfriend

Dan, who is a pharmacist by trade, is very candid about how young Danny was taking drugs and how that affected he and his family.

In the second part of this interview, airing next week, we will speak about how it came to pass that Dan got involved in shutting down a pill mill doctor in his area who was selling OxyContin by the millions. And how this led to a fight with the Sackler Family who are owners of Purdue Pharma, the company who makes OxyContin.

Watch my conversation with Dan below:

Below are sites, documentaries and books to learn the history of this, which has taken him on a 24-year journey.

Tunnel of Hope – Dan’s site – https://tunnelofhope.org/

Dan’s Facebook Site – https://www.facebook.com/DanThePharmacist/

The Pharmacist – Available on Netflix. Watch the Trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiHZ_wU4ktQ

And excellent site with much history, visit – https://www.JudgeForYourselves.com

Dopesick – Watch the Hulu Trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVR63ZHLV4

Crime of the Century – Watch HBO Trailer here – https://youtu.be/SkU75sBdjdU?si

Painkiller – Watch the Netflix Trailer here – https://youtu.be/24-YonhNS0Y

Book “Unsettled” -Brian Hampton –https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250273178/unsettled

Your support of my work, through PayPal is greatly appreciated.

Visit our other sites:

https://www.MaryMac.info – our primary hub. Pick up our free ebook “21 Things You Must Know About The Grieving Process.”

https://www.TheMaryMacShow.com – for all episodes of my podcast. Join my mailing list here.

The Mary Mac Show You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@themarymacshow Please subscribe to our channel, like our videos and share.

https://www.GriefAuthority.com – pick up our digital book collection to download immediately upon purchase.

https://www.FoundationForGrievingChildren.org/donate/ – your donation to our cause will be a big help for hurting young ones.

Let’s Be Friends:
Facebook – Ask Mary Mac
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymccambridge/
Instagram – @themarymacshowpodcast
Twitter – @askmarymac

author, death, dying, grief, grief education, grief education podcast, grief podcast, grief podcaster, grieving journals, journals as gifts, journals as presents, journals for women, journals for writing, loss, Mary M. McCambridge, Mary Mac, mary mac journals, my gratitude journal, my grief journal, my journal, my remembrance journal, podcast for grief, podcaster, podcast for grief education, podcast for grievers, the mary mac journal collection, the mary mac show, writing

Thank you Dan for sharing your time and extensive knowledge with us. We appreciate you!

xoxo

Death of a Child, Sudden Death, The Mary Mac Show

The Mary Mac Show | Death By Fentanyl Podcast Series | Ed Bisch’s 18 yo Son Eddie

Leave a comment

#oxycontin #oxycontindeath #deathbyfentanylpodcastseries

In Episode 206, I speak with Ed Bisch of Relatives Against Purdue Pharma (RAPP) facebook page about his son Eddie’s death at age 18 in 2001 from one OxyContin pill.

Just a few months shy of his high school graduation, Eddie didn’t realize the danger in one such pill. And Ed, his father, was in shock that something like this could be happening.

Eddie Bisch as Toddler

In an effort to help other families in the community, he joined with law enforcement and had a press conference about what had happened to his family and learned there were many other families experiencing the same grief.

Eddie Bisch Forever 18 killed by OxyContin

On one faxed page (this was back in 2001), Ed sent an alert to schools in Philadelphia warning them to the dangers of this new drug which was killing too many students. Oxy, as it was called, was becoming a scourge among young people.

Eddie enjoying his big catch!

As time went on, Ed learned that big pharma, particularly Purdue Pharma based in Stamford, Connecticut, was behind this, pushing oxy pills through their salespeople causing ‘pill mills’ in Virginia and West Virginia, even Maine.

Eddie, his sister Christi and his father, Ed Bisch at his sister’s wedding just 3 months before his death

Some doctors and pharmacies were responsible for millions of doses of oxy in very small communities and ruining the lives of countless families.

What was prescribed for back pain or after surgery so incredibly hooked its users, that the addiction was so severe most people could not continue without it after doctors cut them off from the drug.

So much has been written about this, even movies made about it and still Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler Family, still skates away without any justice.

Standing Up to Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family

Billions have been spent by them for lawyers to keep them out of jail and former judges that heard cases have later been hired by Sackler law firms for hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries.

Ed Bisch speaking at Lost Voices of Fentanyl DC Rally 2023

Watch my conversation with Ed below:

Ed recommends the following sites, documentaries and books to learn the history of this, which has taken him on a 22-year journey.

Please join Relatives Against Purdue Pharmacy Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/RAPPedB

And excellent site with much history, visit – https://www.JudgeForYourselves.com

Reach Ed on Twitter/X – https://www.twitter.com/@ejb1893

Dopesick – Watch the Hulu Trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVR63ZHLV4

Crime of the Century – Watch HBO Trailer here – https://youtu.be/SkU75sBdjdU?si

Painkiller – Watch the Netflix Trailer here – https://youtu.be/24-YonhNS0Y

The Pharmacist – Watch the Trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiHZ_wU4ktQ
Available on Netflix

Book “Unsettled” – Brian Hampton – https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250273178/unsettled

Your support of my work, through PayPal is greatly appreciated.

Visit our other sites:

https://www.MaryMac.info – our primary hub. Pick up our free ebook “21 Things You Must Know About The Grieving Process.”

https://www.TheMaryMacShow.com – for all episodes of my podcast. Join my mailing list here.

The Mary Mac Show You Tube Channel – please subscribe to our channel, like our videos and share.

https://www.GriefAuthority.com – pick up our digital book collection to download immediately upon purchase.

https://www.FoundationForGrievingChildren.org/donate/ – your donation to our cause will be a big help for hurting young ones.

Let’s Be Friends:
Facebook – Ask Mary Mac
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymccambridge/
Instagram – @themarymacshowpodcast
Twitter – @askmarymac

author, death, dying, grief, grief education, grief education podcast, grief podcast, grief podcaster, grieving journals, journals as gifts, journals as presents, journals for women, journals for writing, loss, Mary M. McCambridge, Mary Mac, mary mac journals, my gratitude journal, my grief journal, my journal, my remembrance journal, podcast for grief, podcaster, podcast for grief education, podcast for grievers, the mary mac journal collection, the mary mac show, writing

Thank you Ed for sharing your time and extensive knowledge with us. We appreciate you!

xoxo

Death of a Child, Sudden Death, The Mary Mac Show

The Mary Mac Show | Death By Fentanyl Podcast Series | Andrea Thomas’ 32 yo Daughter Ashley

Leave a comment

#fentanyl #fentanylpoisoning #deathbyfentanyl

In Episode 205, I speak with Andrea Thomas, of Facing Fentanyl Now and Voices of Awareness, about her daughter Ashley’s death at 32 to fentanyl poisoning.

Ashley is Andrea’s first born and when she was killed by fentanyl back in 2018 the world was not as educated about this scourge as they are now as a result of her activism and that of many other parents who endure this sorrow.

In an effort to deal with excruciating pain she suffered from pancreatitis, she searched for relief.

Her boyfriend, who unknowingly gave Ashley the fatal pill laced with fentanyl that killed her, took his life the next day after realizing what had happened. Now two families were devastating by one half of one pill.

She is survived by wonderful family members especially her own son Daniel who was 8 when she died and whom Andrea and her husband had raised and continue to raise today.

At the end of the funeral services for Ashley, she and her friends sat at a table and started to plot out how they could make a difference and alert her community to this deadly poison.

As the years passed, more people became involved and her organizations Facing Fentanyl Now and Voices of Awareness were born.

Later it occurred to her that there should be a day to bring awareness to this lethal drug. And now, each August 21st is considered National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day across the United States.

On August 21, 2023, fellow surviving family members converged on Times Square in New York City to light up the electronic billboards with the faces of their children. In an effort to bring awareness, education and consolation to those affected by this poison, this day received millions of hits on social media and plans are already in the works for future events on that day around the country.

Watch her story here:

Learn More at her organizations’ websites:

Visit Facing Fentanyl Now – https://facingfentanylnow.org/

Voices of Awareness – https://www.voicesforawareness.com and their facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/VoicesforAwareness

Your support of my work, through PayPal is greatly appreciated.

Visit our other sites:

https://www.MaryMac.info – our primary hub. Pick up our free ebook “21 Things You Must Know About The Grieving Process.”

https://www.TheMaryMacShow.com – for all episodes of my podcast. Join my mailing list here.

The Mary Mac Show You Tube Channel – please subscribe to our channel, like our videos and share.

https://www.GriefAuthority.com – pick up our digital book collection to download immediately upon purchase.

https://www.FoundationForGrievingChildren.org/donate/ – your donation to our cause will be a big help for hurting young ones.

Let’s Be Friends:
Facebook – Ask Mary Mac
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymccambridge/
Instagram – @themarymacshowpodcast
“X”/Twitter – @askmarymac

author, death, dying, grief, grief education, grief education podcast, grief podcast, grief podcaster, grieving journals, journals as gifts, journals as presents, journals for women, journals for writing, loss, Mary M. McCambridge, Mary Mac, mary mac journals, my gratitude journal, my grief journal, my journal, my remembrance journal, podcast for grief, podcaster, podcast for grief education, podcast for grievers, the mary mac journal collection, the mary mac show, writing

Thank you Andrea for spending time with me and sharing your story.

xoxo

Death of a Child, Sudden Death, The Mary Mac Show

The Mary Mac Show | Death By Fentanyl Podcast Series | Paula Santos Young’s 33 yo Son Andrew

Leave a comment

#fentanyl #poisoning #death

In Episode 204, I speak with Paula Santos Young, of Achieve Greatness, about her son Andrew’s death at 33 to fentanyl poisoning.

Andrew Santos Forever 33

She shares how Andrew secretly struggled with PTSD and depression as well as an aversion to taking pills of any kind. He died of fentanyl poisoning which was laced in marijuana.

Paula with son Andrew

She and her husband Phil now runs Achieve Greatness, a program Andrew started and is now a non-profit in memory of Andrew with the goal of continuing to help others.

He is also survived by two brothers and two stepbrothers.

Please visit the following sites to learn more:

Visit Achieve Greatness – https://www.achievegreatness88.org/

The Achieve Greatness Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089453853542

Listen to the audio version here – https://www.themarymacshow.com/death-by-fentanyl-podcast-series-paula-santos-young-33-yo-son-andrew/

Watch my interview with Paula here:

Please like, comment and share this episode with others who could benefit from it and subscribe for future episode of this series.

#death #poison #deathofason #fentanyl #fentanylpoisoning #fentanyllacedjoint #fentanyllacedmarijuana #paulasantosyoung #andrewsantos #achievegreatness #themarymacshow #marymac #grieving #grievingchildren #griefpodcast #marymacjournals #themarymacjournalcollection #marymacjournalcollection #marymacjournals #grief #myjournal #mygriefjournal #mygratitudejournal #myremembrancejournal #grieving #death #dying #journalsbymarymac #marymacjournalcollection #themarymacshowjournalcollection

Your support of my work, through PayPal is greatly appreciated.

Visit our other sites:

https://www.MaryMac.info – our primary hub. Pick up our free ebook “21 Things You Must Know About The Grieving Process.”

https://www.TheMaryMacShow.com – for all episodes of my podcast. Join my mailing list here.

The Mary Mac Show You Tube Channel – please subscribe to our channel, like our videos and share.

https://www.GriefAuthority.com – pick up our digital book collection to download immediately upon purchase.

https://www.FoundationForGrievingChildren.org/donate/ – your donation to our cause will be a big help for hurting young ones.

Let’s Be Friends:

Facebook – Ask Mary Mac
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymccambridge/
Instagram – @themarymacshowpodcast
Twitter – @askmarymac

author, death, dying, grief, grief education, grief education podcast, grief podcast, grief podcaster, grieving journals, journals as gifts, journals as presents, journals for women, journals for writing, loss, Mary M. McCambridge, Mary Mac, mary mac journals, my gratitude journal, my grief journal, my journal, my remembrance journal, podcast for grief, podcaster, podcast for grief education, podcast for grievers, the mary mac journal collection, the mary mac show, writing

Thank you so much Paula for sharing your story and your time.

We are grateful!

xoxo

Death of a Child, Sudden Death, The Mary Mac Show

The Mary Mac Show | Death By Fentanyl Podcast Series | Terry Almanza’s 18 yo Daughter Sydney

Leave a comment

In Episode 203, I speak with Terry Almanza, Founder, Director and CEO of Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation, about her daughter Sydney’s death at age 18 to ecstasy poisoning.

Terry is a former Chicago Police Officer having served 28 years on the job and now is committed to helping others through her organization who have had children die of poisonings.

She believes drug dealers are getting away with murder and encourages others to push for better laws and justice in their communities.

Terry Almanza, Drug Induced Homicide Foundation

The Drug-Induced Homicide Foundation is helping families and making their voices heard so we can decrease this scourge on our children and society, which is leaving hundreds of thousands of parents and families to grieve their deaths. You can also join their facebook group here.

Watch my interview with Terry here:

Please like, comment and share this episode with others who could benefit from it and subscribe for future episode of this series.

#death #ecstasypoisoning #deathofadaughter #terryalmanza #sydney #druginducedhomicidefoundation #themarymacshow #marymac #grieving #grievingchildren #griefpodcast #marymacjournals #themarymacjournalcollection #marymacjournalcollection #marymacjournals #grief #myjournal #mygriefjournal #mygratitudejournal #myremembrancejournal #grieving #death #dying #journalsbymarymac #marymacjournalcollection #themarymacshowjournalcollection

Your support of my work, through PayPal is greatly appreciated.

Visit our other sites:

https://www.MaryMac.info – our primary hub. Pick up our free ebook “21 Things You Must Know About The Grieving Process.”

https://www.TheMaryMacShow.com – for all episodes of my podcast. Join my mailing list here.

The Mary Mac Show You Tube Channel – please subscribe to our channel, like our videos and share.

https://www.GriefAuthority.com – pick up our digital book collection to download immediately upon purchase.

https://www.FoundationForGrievingChildren.org/donate/ – your donation to our cause will be a big help for hurting young ones.

Let’s Be Friends:

Facebook – Ask Mary Mac
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymccambridge/
Instagram – @themarymacshowpodcast
Twitter – @askmarymac

author, death, dying, grief, grief education, grief education podcast, grief podcast, grief podcaster, grieving journals, journals as gifts, journals as presents, journals for women, journals for writing, loss, Mary M. McCambridge, Mary Mac, mary mac journals, my gratitude journal, my grief journal, my journal, my remembrance journal, podcast for grief, podcaster, podcast for grief education, podcast for grievers, the mary mac journal collection, the mary mac show, writing

Thank you so much Terry for sharing your story and your time.

We are grateful!

xoxo