In the photo shared to Facebook, Eva Holland smiles alongside her 26-year-old husband Mike Settles and their two young children.
An Ohio mother whose husband died after a reported heroin overdose has shared a photograph showing her beside his open casket to highlight the realities of drug abuse.
In the image shared to her Facebook page, Eva Holland smiles alongside her 26-year-old husband Mike Settles and their two young children.
In a post accompanying the image, the Cincinnati mom explained that she was sharing the image because she wants to show the reality of addiction, and how his death was preventable.
“Hiding the facts is only going to keep this epidemic going,” she wrote. “The cold hard truth is heroin kills. You may think it will never happen to you but guess what that's what Mike thought too.”
In her post, she explained how Mike, her partner of 11 years, lost his life after a recent relapse.
“I was there before it all started," she said. "I knew what he wanted out of this life, all his hopes and dreams. He never would've imagined his life would turn out this way. He was once so happy and full of life. He was a great son, brother, friend but most importantly, he was a great dad. He loved those kids more than anything."
She went on: "But as we all know sometimes life gets tough and we make some wrong choices. His addiction started off with pain pills then inevitably heroin.”
She said that he went to rehab at the end of last year, but ultimately relapsed.
“My kids’ father, the man I loved since I was a kid, a great person lost his battle,” she said. “I just needed to share his story in case it can help anyone else.”
Read: Lindsay Lohan Comes Clean With Oprah About Addiction
Since Eva posted the photo, it has been shared more than 250,000 times. Many viewers have commended her bravery in sharing the image.
In a later post, she added that she had spoken to Mike’s parents about posting the photo. They told her they weren’t upset that she had shared it, but wanted to note that the coroner’s report has not yet come back with his official cause of death.
What do you think about the photograph? Share your thoughts below
Watch: Queen of Versailles Stars Say Daughter Camouflaged Drug Addiction
