Early Ending for an Artist

My cousin Matt could sketch a lion or tiger leaping through a meadow in just minutes. He once captivated my kids after a Sunday supper more than any iPad could. ‘Matty can you show me how to do that like you?’ He then had the patience and imagination to show my youngest Tommy, just a toddler at the time, how to draw a dolphin riding a bicycle.

He had a gift but passed away a week ago today from a 20-year battle with addiction. The Heroin ultimately got him. He just could never get enough.

It seems so many more of us know someone with addiction. Perry Meadows, a medical director I’ve done panels with, always chokes up talking about his son’s addiction and what might have been. His son’s story has very much framed Dr. Meadows’ work in trying to address addiction at Geisinger.

There are signs that the opioid crisis has turned and that there are new ways to address addiction, new treatments, new delivery models. Matt didn’t have success in treatment. I wonder what if. I wonder if he could have one day worked for one of the companies some of you lead – those changing the outcome of addiction. Could he have done art therapy?

There are tons of regrets in moments like this. There are no words. For those who have gone through this they know that managing the disease is nearly impossible, that it cannot be solved in a day, or with words or treatment alone. It takes something more. I would argue the unique models popping up like Aware’s at-home addiction treatment or Eleanor Health’s global risk-taking featuring MAT and social support are great successes that show what’s possible. Question is whether stigma lifts and whether more creative models can be developed.