In Loving Memory of Shawnce Browning 03/11/1975 ~ 12/31/2005

Shawnce Browning
03/11/1975-12/31/2005
Bluffton, Indiana
On December 31, 2005 I lost my oldest brother to methadone.  My brother, Shawnce Browning, died in his sleep, with his three sons next to him.  At the time of his death Shawnce was just 30-years-old.  He sons were 14, 7, and 4.  Shawnce was a fun-loving person who was always the life of the party.  Not only was Shawnce a friend to many, he was a father of three, a husband, a son, an uncle, and a big brother.  Shawnce had a great sense of humor and could always make anybody laugh.  Shawnce loved riding his Harley, watching the Colts play and prided himself in his Native American spirituality.

Shawnce was given methadone illegally from his doctor therefore, there's no record of how much he was on and/or how much he had taken.  I had seen my brother overdose on drugs which landed him in the hospital multiple times.  Nothing else was strong enough to take his life.  I wanted to know what was so special about methadone that it was able to kill my brother.  Thanks to HARMD.org and other websites, I now know the answer to that.  My brother should have never been given methadone.  It's not clear why he was given methadone, since there is no record of it.  He was hospitalized a month before his death for overdosing and his doctor was notified by many other physicians and therapists not to give Shawnce narcotics because he has a history of abusing them.  I also spoke with his doctor about his drug abuse, but he chose to ignore every body's warnings.  Unfortunately, the consequence of his ignorance is irreversible.  Not only did I lose my brother to methadone, four days later I found our mother, Brenda Overmier, dead from multiple drug toxicity.  Although her death was ruled accidental, I do believe that it was a direct consequence of my brother's death.  They had the same negligent doctor and I'm happy to say he has been 'forced' into an early retirement.  While I am pleased that nobody else will lose their life because of this doctor, it doesn't make up for the lives that have been lost.  It doesn't replace my mom and brother. 

My mom and brother's funeral was held together.  Their caskets in the same room, their service held at the same time.  This is an event that no family should ever have to go through.  In my personal opinion, I see no purpose for methadone and believe it should be taken off of the market.  Unfortunately, I don't believe that will happen.  All that I can do is try to educate people about the dangers of methadone and hope that they listen.  Prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in our country, especially around where I live, and it is time for people to pay attention to it.  Not just to the people who abuse the drugs or the people who sell them but also to the doctors who write out the prescriptions to the abusers and peddlers.  Doctors should pay close attention to whom they are writing prescriptions for narcotics to and monitor those individuals.  Unethical doctors should be held accountable for their actions.