In Loving Memory of Gabriel Miller April 22, 1981 ~ August 14, 2006My Beloved Gabriel passed away August 14, 2006, when he was 25 years old… He loved the Lord, and I believe that he is in a better place, no longer tormented by the pains and horrors of addiction, but I still miss him so very much… I will miss him every day until I see him again, someday, in Heaven…
Gabriel was a beautiful person… a talented musician and songwriter, with incredible stage charisma… Gabriel loved people… He cared about people and their problems, and took everything to heart… Gabriel loved to make people laugh, and always found a way to find the passion in people… He was always there to talk… and listen…
Gabriel was a beautiful person, but he battled a horrible addiction… He shot up oxycontin, and he dabbled with just about anything he could find, just to try to tame this demon on his back… He finally tried Methadone… not from a clinic, but from the street… from a, probably, well meaning friend… but he overdosed and died…
Addiction is painful… It hurts when you do the drugs, and you get sick… and it hurts when you need the drugs, and you get sick… It hurts even more, he said, when you deal with the inner turmoil of guilt and shame from the things you do to get the drugs, and you get sick… Addiction is painful…
Gabriel once told me that he didn’t set out to become a drug addict, or to be a bad person… he wanted to be a good person… but he just wanted to enjoy life and “party a little”… Well, he quickly found out that drugs can take hold, and addiction sneaks up real fast… And the “good person inside” just couldn’t win the battle…
Gabriel was a beautiful person, who cared about me, his mom, and his brother, and his family and friends… I KNOW he didn’t set out to hurt us… I KNOW he would want us to move on and enjoy life, as he watches from above… and I KNOW that he would want me to tell everyone I can, that drugs kill… Please don’t start… Please stop NOW, if you can, or get help if you need it… Please help your loved ones…
I love my Gabriel so very much…
Katie Helms, Gabriel’s Mom