Addiction Is A Family Disease

On Sunday Garrett Reid died. Today his parents, family and friends will attend his funeral. The Reid Family issued his obituary to the press:

Garrett William Reid was born in Provo, Utah April 13, 1983 and grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Harriton High School and Montgomery County Community College. Garrett was working as a strength & conditioning coach. He found his passion in helping others develop their physique. To further his career, Garrett had planned to begin studies in sports management in the fall. He was proud of his rank of Eagle Scout. He was the greatest big brother. He was definitely the funniest person to all who knew and loved him. Garrett will be long remembered for his sense of humor, his bold laughter and zest for life. Through his most difficult times his biggest strength was the love and support he received from his family and they from him. He will be truly missed. Garrett is survived by his parents Andrew and Tammy and siblings Britt (Kristen), Crosby, Drew, Spencer and the love of his life, Laura Perkins.

You see, Garrett could be anyone's son. He was 29 years old. In a few weeks the coroner, following an autopsy and toxicology tests, will issue a report on Garrett's cause of death. The one thing we know about Garrett's health history is that he suffered from the disease of addiction. And his parents and family know how difficult this disease can be. His parents first learned about his disease in 2002.  In 2008 Garrett's parents were interviewed by Philadelphia Magazine and at the time his Mom remarked:

"And you have no idea, as parents you have no idea what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. And so you take a stab at it, you talk to psychologists and psychiatrists and friends who have been through it, anybody, to come up with a solution, what you think is best, and it doesn’t always work. That’s the bottom line, it doesn’t always work."

Today we offer our condolences to the Reid Family and we remember that this is a family disease. As with any disease, not everyone survives and not everyone can stay in remission and avoid relapse. However, many families learn how to live with this disease by attending intense family programs learning about support and recovery.

Related articles

• Remembering Garrett Reid (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
• Andy Reid says his son 'lost the battle' (sunherald.com)
• After Death of Coach's Son, Eagles Move Forward and Stay Behind Reid (nytimes.com)
• Reid says son Garrett 'lost his battle' (espn.go.com)
• Garrett Reid's death highlights the difficulty of  dealing with addiction (philly.com)
• Garrett Reid Struggled With Addiction for Years (nbcphiladelphia.com)