Mike was my husband and the love of my young life. We met in our last year of high school and started dating shortly after graduation. We dated nearly 6 years before marrying in 2008. We were married 2 days short of 2 years.

Mike did not have an easy life. A fatal accident during his sophomore year of high school left him with demons that haunted the rest of his life. These demons manifested in mental illness and drug use. Honestly, the marijuana use probably kept him alive for many of his teen years -- self-medication worked better than any of the psych drugs that usually presented more problems than they actually helped. Dust off is a habit he developed while working at a computer store. It was a common past-time. This "habit" returned while he was trying to kick the other drugs in his life. I guess he saw it as notthat big ofa deal. It nearly killed him in February of this year. It did kill him on August 6th of 2010.

I am being very honest about his drug usage because I've found most people don't think you can ACTUALLY die from inhalants. I heard numerous times, from rehab places, psych clinics and family members that "its not that big of a deal, its only dust off and just pot". GUESS WHAT! It is a big deal. Mike and I had rough patches, BIG ones. But this world should be remiss about the life that it lost in Mike. He had a lot to offer, and a lot to give. He was a teddy bear with a love to help, and a love for people. I will forever be less without my best friend by my side.