BY KARISSA MILLER

Stefanie Duck will always remember her son, Timothy “TJ” Cothron Jr., as hard working, kind and compassionate.

“He never met a stranger. He was always willing to help anyone who asked and brought light to everyone’s world he entered,” she said.

In February of 2022, about eight months after graduating from South Iredell High School, TJ died from fentanyl poisoning. He was 18.

His mother hopes that by sharing his story she can help prevent other young people from accidentally overdosing.

TJ was a member of the marching band and a national champion on the JROTC Drill Team at South Iredell High School. After graduation, he worked at the Walmart Distribution Center in Troutman.

“On February 16, he made a choice to take a pill he thought was oxycodone,” Duck said. “He ended up being deceived. The pill, which we found out three months later in a toxicology report, had 18 nanograms of fentanyl — enough to kill nine people. Our whole future was stolen from us.”

Duck, who works as a pediatric Registered Nurse, asked the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education on August 12 to put Naloxone, a nasal spray drug that reverses an opioid overdose, in every school.

“Currently the school resource officers carry it. If SROs are busy with a fight or incident, there’s no reason it can’t be in the school nurse’s office in a first-aid kit. Our mission is to try and get it in the school office and have first responders trained to it as well,” she said.

Mecklenburg, Wake and Harnett County school boards have amended their board policies to allow Naloxone in schools, she said.

The Drug Alcohol Coalition of Iredell County (DACI) is willing to provide a policy that the school board could adopt and is also willing to help provide some Narcan (Naloxone) as well as train individuals in the schools.

DACI is a community-based coalition of agencies, organizations, and individuals who are dedicated to improving the life of those in the community. The nonprofit has resources focused on preventing drug and alcohol misuse, abuse, and overdose deaths through public awareness, education, harm reduction, and advocacy. 

Duck is in the process of starting a nonprofit called TJ’s Story Lives on. She is the western chapter director for Forgotten Victims of North Carolina and active with Fentanyl Victims of North Carolina (fentvic.org).

As a nurse, she had talked to her son about pressed pills, but she said her knowledge base has grown since TJ’s death.

For parents, she said, it’s important to look for warning signs of drug abuse.

“Watch for subtle changes, such as having an aggressive nature or cleanliness or not showering,” she said.

She also reminds parents to tell their children that fentanyl can be added to everyday items, including water, and other drugs, like marijuana.

“Just have open conversations and don’t think it can’t be your child. I never thought it could be my child. Be open-minded and listen without judgment so that way they are willing to talk to you,” Duck said.

Stephanie Triplett, an I-SS mom with three children, also shared her story with the school board.

“I lost my husband to fentanyl poisoning. It changed my whole perspective on everything. He was 40 years of age. Not a lot of people who are dying are his age. Mostly it’s the youth, but I’m asking for Narcan to be put in the schools as well,” she said.

LEARN MORE

Visit https://www.daciredell.com.