Community
Pathfinder of the Month DD Flynn “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Imagine holding your newborn baby — sweet, innocent and protected. You would do anything for this baby — go to any lengths to protect her every step of the way. But what if you couldn’t? What if this baby grew up and made a few bad choices? What if these choices led to the end of her life? If you’re DD Flynn, you would do everything in your power to make sure what happened to her daughter Christi would not happen to anyone else’s child. DD is turning what is every parent’s nightmare into a crusade of help and hope, which is why she is our Pathfinder of the Month. Christi started experimenting with drugs when she was 12, and would be in and out of drugs throughout her teens. DD did everything she could to save her daughter, which included taking her to an out-of-state rehab program. After Christi almost lost her life in a severe car accident, it seemed that she turned a corner and set new, positive goals for her life that included college. The morning of October 1, 2005, forever changed the lives of her family and those who knew Christi. It was early when a barking dog signaled something wasn’t right in DD’s house. When DD got up, she heard banging sounds in the basement, where Christi’s room was located. She found her daughter in a seizure with a plastic air mattress bed covering her face, poles across her legs and rope by her feet. Christi was rushed to the hospital, and was pronounced brain dead on October 5. At 20 years old, her life was over. Toxicology screens found cocaine, GHB (date rape drug) and possible chloroform in her system. DD was told, “No crime committed.” But DD knew better. It was physically impossible for Christi to have gotten herself in the state in which DD found her. DD determined that someone must have left Christi in the basement like that, and someone provided Christi with the drugs. “A simple drug overdose” is what one detective wrote. After sharing her story online, DD learned about Georgia law 16.5.1(c), which basically states that if a death occurs, even among friends, due to the exchange of drugs, irrespective of malice, it will be tried as felony murder. Of course, DD wanted to know where Christi got the drugs and who left her to die instead of helping her. To this day, it’s still a mystery, and DD won’t rest until she finds out. But out of her grief, DD has made a mission to “Prevent the next one. Prevent the next Christi.” She is an active participant and an invited “launcher” for the organization Friends Don’t Let Friends Die (FDLFD), a non-profit group dedicated to encouraging “friends” to call
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Christi with her mom DD.
911 to save a fellow friend’s life, no matter the surrounding circumstances (including drug and alcohol related events). FDLFD provides an online resource house of information regarding drug laws, drug symptoms per drug, alcohol poisoning signs, what to do in the event of an overdose and drug street terms kids use. Over the last four years, DD has actively pushed passage of the Georgia Pharmaceutical Monitoring Bill, which would allow creation of a database to prevent people from going doctor to doctor for prescription medications. She promotes random drug testing in schools because, according to her research, states that allow it saw a reduction in drug use among young people. DD also encourages parents to do random, at home, drug screening tests, which are available at most drug stores. The bottom line for DD is this: Stop the pill mills, perform home drug testing, open the lines of communication. “We have security systems in our homes. We need security systems for our children against the break in of drugs,” she said. DD has lost a child, one of the most horrible things that can happen to a parent. But rather than curling up into a ball, she is out there making a difference in the hopes that no other parent has to endure the same tragedy. For more information on FDLFD, visit www.friendsdontletfriendsdie.com.
AroundAbout — East Cobb
September 2010