This is our story of just what the nasty drug heroin did to our daughter and our family.
Our daughter (Sara)was a beautiful, fun loving, caring and tenderhearted young woman that would give the shirt off her back if you needed it. She was raised in a Christian home and she knew Jesus. She was active in high school with anything related to music. She graduated in 2009 and was starting to attend the local community college for nursing that fall. She started on the right foot but it went downhill fast and we did not know why. We saw depression setting in and she had to drop out. She found a job and life went on. She tried to go back to school but it was useless. Little did we know that she was self-medicating with pain killers.
Around 2012 she was introduced to heroin from a co-worker. We had no idea anything was going on till 2013 when things started disappearing around the house and a good friend posted on social media that his best friend had stolen from him. I contacted him and he said she needed help that she was using heroin. We were all devastated. When she came home that night we drug tested her and it was positive for Heroin. She claimed she could quit and would. She moved out of the house and in with her brother and was holding down a great job for a short time. The lying and the stealing had become unreal and she was picked up for shop lifting. We told her she had 2 options, 1 was to admit herself to Teen Challenge, a faith based facility that has a high success rate and along term facility or live on the streets, because we were making her get out of her brothers home and she was not allowed in ours. She really thought she had friends to take her in but no one would.
She decided on Teen Challenge and went into the program in January of 2014. She was doing superb! There were some issues but it was like seeing the daughter we hadn’t seen in a long while. Near the end of August she wanted to leave the program for various reason and we made the mistake of bringing her home. She stayed clean till December of 2014 and then relapsed again and again. We had to throw her out of our house numerous times and the last time we left her back she promised to go back to Teen Challenge and start over and finish the program. We had waited 12 weeks for a bed to open up and then she got in trouble with the law again for receiving stolen property. By the grace of God those charges were dropped but she had fines to pay. This started her into a downward spiral into depression. She hated herself, and could not forgive herself for all the trouble she has caused us. She could not understand how we could love her after everything she did. She felt there was never a way out. On October 29th she told us that she was going to take a bath. She had just spent the evening with her niece and nephew and was tired. She asked her dad if she could switch bedrooms and we said we would do that for her. She climbed into the tub and her dad and I went downstairs to watch TV. An hour later I came up to get ready for bed and noticed she was still in the bathroom. I went in and found her face down in the tub. I screamed and my husband came running and we got her out. I called 911 and my husband tried doing CPR on her, but I knew in my heart she was gone. She had been dead for a while. The Coroner said that it was heroin laced with a large amount of fentanyl. He said she died within minutes of using it. This is where her story ended and ours will begin. This is a springboard for us to help those with Substance Use Disorder get the help they need and to be a support for those parents of Loved ones suffering from Substance Use Disorder as well. People need to know this is a disease and they need help. This disease just rips a family apart but there is always hope! She impacted many lives and will continue to do so, this was obvious by over 600 people paying their respects at her viewing and funeral and the numerous cards and letters from people we did not know. We made her obituary honest and loving. We were not and are not ashamed of our sweet daughter. Our journey is just starting. God has been our strength! Everyone deserves to be loved!
Our Daughter’s Obituary
Sara Beth Mishler, 25, of Mechanicsburg, passed into the arms of her Heavenly Father on October 29, 2015. Born September 20, 1990 in Harrisburg, she was the daughter of Terry A. and Lori S. (Fisher) Mishler.
Sara was a 2009 graduate of Cumberland Valley High School where she was active in the choir and school musicals.
Our sweet baby girl fought very hard through the battle of addiction with her family and friends by her side. We loved her unconditionally in the good times and in the down times. As a beautiful child of the King Most High, Sara has no more pain, turmoil, anxiety, heartache or shame.
In addition to her parents surviving are brothers Michael R. Mishler and wife Sarah of Boiling Springs and Andrew P. Mishler of Mechanicsburg; her niece Alaina Noel Mishler; her nephew Everett A. Mishler and her maternal grandparents Robert J. and Deanna G. Fisher of Holsopple.
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 4 at Christ Community Church, 1201 Slate Hill Road, Camp Hill. There will be a viewing from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday at Malpezzi Funeral Home, Mechanicsburg.
Remembering that our children are a precious gift from God, we hold them, forgive them, help them when needed and always love them. It is in this spirit that we ask memorials be made to At the Cross Recovery c/o McBIC, 1050 S. York St, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 or Teen Challenge c/o Philadelphia Women’s Home, 329 E. Wister St., Philadelphia, PA 19144.