Casey T.

By Casey's sister, Danielle

Casey Thurston

My brother’s name was Casey.

What I miss the most about him is his personality. He had this great energy and easy way about him. He died eight years ago, and I still want to pick up the phone and call him all the time.

My most favorite memory with Casey is playing around in our swimming pool with our little brother, Billy, as kids. We used to have such a good time, and chase after the ice cream man in the evenings with the neighbor kids! I cherish those summers together.

If you have a loved one struggling with addiction, please know it is very much a disease. I live with stage IV breast cancer, and Casey’s addiction is very much a disease just like mine. Neither of us could help it. Just like I am not ashamed about having cancer, I wish Casey wasn’t ashamed about having an addiction. But society puts such a stigma on it. Please don’t make your loved one feel embarrassed about living with addiction. It is a disease, and understand they want to be free of it more than anyone.