American University
WASHINGTON – The annual FED UP! rally held in Washington’s Federal Plaza on Sunday was an emotional gathering for those fighting against opioid addiction, which has taken the lives of thousands of people.
Individuals came together to pay tribute to their lost loved ones who have been victims of opioid addiction. Signs, posters and t-shirts for the deceased filled the scene as friends and family members circulated among tables where different organizations who work to combat opioid addiction were stationed.
Participants shed tears and shared their stories before demanding change and justice for those who have suffered the loss of loved ones.
Karen Potocki from Bear, Delaware, whose daughter, Jenna, died unexpectedly said, “I had just seen her hours before. I don’t know if it was divine intervention or not.”
Potocki said, “For some reason, I was adamant about Jenna meeting me to get one of the kids’ haircuts on a Wednesday before she passed. … I looked at her, she looked at me and I said see you tomorrow honey. She said, ‘I love you, mom.’ The last time I ever saw her she was on a slab. She died that night, eight hours later.”
After having been in a severe car accident three years before, Jenna was put on opiates by a doctor and became addicted, her mother said. Once taken off the opiates, she experienced withdrawal. Jenna had never been a drinker or a drug user before.
While demanding justice for the tragic loss of her daughter and for her grandchildren who were left without a mother, Potocki said, “Anybody who loses a child knows that grieving is the worst thing in the world. All you do is wake up thinking about them and you go to bed thinking about them and every day you think about them so your days are never good. It’s more like survival mode. If I didn’t have my grandchildren, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
The FED UP! Coalition, which has been active since 2012, was formed by individuals who suffered the loss of loved ones and who were frustrated at the lack of resolution from the government. The first rally was held a year after.
Moreover, Judy Rummler, the chair of FED UP! who lost her son to opioid addiction in 2011, said, “When I was at the FDA, I met all these other people who were trying to do various things in their own states. … We decided we’ll have a louder voice if we come together and that was the genesis of the FED UP! Coalition.”
“It feels satisfying to know we’re making a difference but we don’t get the press coverage we’d like to get,” said Rummler.
The Fabris family, which came from New York, suffered the loss of its middle son, Joseph. Joseph was given painkillers for a back injury and shoulder injury and developed an addiction, his father said.
After being released from rehab, he was given Narcan, an antidote for overdose. James Fabris, his father, said, “We should’ve been instructed on how to use the Narcan because he couldn’t do it. … I tried giving him mouth-to-mouth, but it was too late.”
