The story of an overdose obituary

“Every day that she wasn’t in recovery, anything could happen. Anything could happen, and I knew that,” Michelle said.

The two had a motherdaughter day, just as they had when Casey was a small girl. They went out for lunch and got their nails done. They liked to sing in the car together — often country, although Casey sometimes broke into rap. Casey often Snapchatted parts of it, trying to embarrass her mother. It worked. Now, they’re some of Michelle’s favorite videos.

Christmas came, and Casey wrote her mother a letter. She talked about how much she would miss them while she was in rehab but also how much she looked forward to the idea of tackling her addiction. She said she wanted the family to be proud of her. “I already was,” Michelle said.

They found a facility and were prepared to send her out Jan. 2. Casey packed her bags, stuffed them full. She wasn’t planning to come back anytime soon.

Just as Casey was preparing to leave, they got a call. Their insurance had changed with the New Year, and the arrangements they had made weren’t going to work anymore. Casey and Michelle began working to find a new facility. They found one that worked with their insurance, but it didn’t have any open beds. They were negotiating with another when she overdosed.

“A plane ticket was all we were working on,” Michelle said. “The goal was to get her on the plane within 24 hours.”

Her bags are still in the house, unopened.

“I’m not brave enough to go through it right now, the suitcase,” Michelle said. “It’s still sitting there packed, and it’s probably going to stay like that a while.”