Katie was the bright spot in my life.  She was lively, friendly, and outgoing. My cuddle bug. Even at the age of 16, she still loved to snuggle.

A phenomenal athlete, she excelled at soccer, roller skating, cheerleading and field hockey. Her exceptional athletic talent, combined with her small size, often brought attention to her with comments like "Look at that little one!

But, I often told her that the thing about her that made me the most proud was that was a GOOD person. Especially in elementary school, Katie often befriended less popular classmates, or students with disabilities.

I still remember the winter night when we pulled up to a red light where a homeless man stood shaking in the cold, holding a sign that said, "Will work for food." Katie was so moved by this, that I reached back and gave her a dollar bill to hand to the man. When he took the dollar, he asked if he could wash my car for me, or come do some yard work. Katie felt such compassion and concern for him, and spoke about him all the way home. "What will happen to him? Will he be OK? Nobody should live like that." Katie had a truly loving heart.

At various times, she had discussed different career ideas. I told her that what I hoped for her more than anything else was that she would someday know the joy of having a daughter, because having her (my only daughter) had made me so happy.

But she will never know that joy and I will never get the chance to share that with her.

I still can't believe that my wonderful, beautiful, lively, and GOOD little girl ever got into drugs.

When kids get involved with drugs, it changes everything. They become a different person. They do things that they would NEVER do otherwise.  The addiction is SO POWERFUL that they will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get the drugs, even when that means violating their own values. Yes, they do WIND UP doing wrong. But, they didn't start out that way.

Now, I am left with a constant aching hole in my heart. I miss Katie so badly. I think about her all the time. It's nothing anyone can imagine beforehand. It pretty much DESTROYS you.

For more details about Katie, please visit beat-the-drum.org and hurricane-katrina.faces-of-addiction.com.