Todd.

     Charlotte left behind a husband and 4 young children.  Todd age 13, Amber age 11, Terry age 8 and Pandora age 5.  Each dealt with grief in their own way as time passed.  Much like my grandmother Charlotte, I also never knew my Uncle Todd.   

     Todd and his wife Alynda gave birth to a son on November 1, 1982.  They named him Christopher James Wilson.  Christopher was Todd's first name, and James was my grandfather.  Though I never knew Todd nor witnessed his interactions, every picture I've seen portrays him as a father who loved his son.  I think he saw it as an opportunity to give Chris the life he had been robbed.  Unfortunately, after several years of marriage, Todd and his wife separated.  He was distraught over the situation and began drinking and using drugs more heavily.  On Sunday, December 16th, Todd complained he didn't feel well.  He stuck it out through Sunday but on Monday had decided he needed to go to the hospital.  Once admitted, the doctors quickly found out he had taken Speed a few days prior.

  

      I'm uncertain when things took a turn and about the details the doctors gave him.  But his brother Terry (my dad) recalls that he was unconscious when they arrived to see him.  My mother said she remembers the doctors saying there was nothing they could do to save Todd.  He passed at 8:20pm on December 17th, 1984.  The death certificate states the cause of death as:

1. Respiratory failure (interval between onset and death 1hr 20min)

2. Due to or as a consequence of acute massive pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack, interval between onset and death 24hrs). 

3. Due to or as a consequence of a history of speed injection. 
  

     At this point no one was thinking the two deaths could be related.  It seems to me that when the doctors knew he had taken Speed, they gave up.  Possibly assuming he wanted to die.  Maybe I'm biased, but I'm confused about the timeline of events.  I thought that when a person overdoses, they die quickly.  Todd had taken the drugs 2-3 days earlier.  I know that's not true in all cases and their may be many like his.  But I just don't buy into it yet.  There had to be a better explanation for what was happening.  Was it honestly just a coincidence that he was preceded in death my his 30 year old mother?

     Todd passed away at the age of 25 leaving his son behind the same way his mother Charlotte had left him.  My grandfather would now bury his wife and son side by side.

Todd & Chris