Lisa Manning
was at the gym when she got the call from her husband. "He said, 'Oh my
God, oh my God, call 911.' I didn't ask any questions. I knew."
Less than an
hour later, at 6:53 a.m., another phone call was placed to 911.
Half a mile
down the road, 18-year-old Joseph Abraham was found slumped on the floor by his
parents, Dave and Kathi Abraham. He had no pulse.
"As
soon as I saw him, I knew and I just ran and I just started holding him and I
could tell he was cold," said Kathi Abraham.
"Dave
was on the phone to 911 and I said, 'It's too late. We can't fix this,'"
she added, as tears welled in her eyes.
Childhood friends
Dustin
Manning and Joseph Abraham were childhood friends. They played on the same
Little League team. For two years, Joseph's father coached them.
But in
middle school, both began to dabble in drugs.
The Abrahams
believe their son had his first dose of opioids when he had his wisdom teeth
removed. He was prescribed the drugs again when he broke his ankle -- and
later, his hand -- playing sports.
"When
you're given a prescription from a doctor, we often just trust that,"
Kathi Abraham said.
She believes
Joseph turned to drugs after dealing with two major tragedies at a young age.
"He
lost two of his really good friends in eighth grade -- one to cancer and one to
a drowning. He really had a hard time. He struggled with that," she said.
At the age
of 12, Dustin told his parents he felt like he was suffering depression. He
soon started drinking beer and taking drugs.
"He
told us the drugs are what gave him 'the out' and made him feel good,"
Lisa Manning said.
Both parents
sought help from treatment centers, not once, but time and time again. Lisa
Manning even began working at one of the centers to keep an eye on her son and
better understand addiction.
But Dave
Abraham says the treatments weren't enough to fight his son's battle.
"Once
they take (opioids), there's a switch in their brain that gets flipped on --
and to get that switched flipped back could take up to five years, and most
treatments are 35 days and they're back out," he said.
According to
both sets of parents, Dustin and Joe hadn't been in touch in recent years, yet
it appears they may have bought the drug that killed them from the same dealer.
According to police records, some of the pill wrappings were almost identical.
There were
fears in the community that other kids may have bought the same drugs.
Walking
through her son's bedroom, Lisa Manning pointed at a US flag on the wall.
"This flag was a symbolic thing for him. He always wanted to go in the
service. He always wanted to be a Marine. He would have made a great
Marine," she said, breathing a deep sigh.
"Joe
was a sensitive young man, he was funny, he had a big heart", Kathi
Abraham recalled. "He loved to fish, he loved to be outside and hike. He
could have done anything he wanted. He was very smart, in advanced
classes."
Dave Abraham
added: "He could watch a video on YouTube and go and play it on the piano.
... Most dads teach their kids how to fish. Joe taught me how to fish."
Hopes for
their children's futures were dashed in an instant.
"This
happened within 18 houses of each other to two young men on the same morning.
The community was in total shock," said Kathi Abraham.
President
Trump has declared opioid addiction a public health emergency, which officials
say will allow the federal government to waive some regulations and give states
more flexibility in how they use federal funds. It does not provide any
additional funding to deal with the crisis.
Like many
critics, the Manning and Abraham families say it doesn't go far enough.
"This
is a just a step, a small step," said Greg Manning.
"The problem
with treatment right now is there is a very low percentage of success. The
longer they stay in treatment, that success rate goes up," said Dave
Abraham.
They also
want tougher punishment for dealers.
"These
drugs are killing people and there's a lot of drug dealers around," Kathi
Abraham said.
"To me
it's poison or murder -- anyone who sells fentanyl should have a life
sentence," her husband added.
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