A woman who went viral back in October 2016 after a heartbreaking photo showed her in the midst of a heroin overdose, has shared a new transformation photo following three years of sobriety.
The new photo, posted on the Facebook page The Addict’s Diary on Saturday, is a far cry from the image that served as Erika Hurt's wakeup call.
The old photo, captured by police, shows Hurt passed out in the driver's seat of her car outside a Dollar General store in Hope, Indiana, still holding the empty syringe in her hand while her 10-month-old son sits in the back.
As horrifying as the picture was, it ultimately became the wakeup call the then 25-year-old - who was revived with the antidote nasal spray Narcan - needed to completely turn her life around.
This is the heartbreaking moment a news anchor reports on her own daughter's death after a fatal drug overdose:The recent photo was posted side-by-side with the overdose picture and shows the now-healthy-looking mother with her young son, each holding up signs - Hurt holding up a sign which reads "NARCAN saved my life" and her son holding up a sign which says, "And now I get to have my mommy".
Also included in the post was the following heartfelt caption:
"Millions saw me overdose after a photo taken of me by a police officer went viral. None of those people have seemed to have time to reach out and check on me, so here is an update: Today I celebrated three years clean and my son gets to have his mommy back. How about you make THAT go viral! #TheAddictsDiary."
The touching post has since gone viral, garnering 132,000 reactions 22,000 comments and 100,000 shares at the time of writing.
It came after Hurt opened up about reaching her third year of sobriety on her own Facebook page, where she shared more photos of her and her son.
"Today marks THREE ENTIRE YEARS of sobriety for me! Y'all already know, but allow me to recap. 3 years ago I was receiving Narcan to bring me back to life after I had overdosed on heroin; all while my son, my mom, and her wife stood and watched," she wrote.
The mom continued:
"While those are such emotional moments for my family to recall, that's really not what is MOST important today. What is really important today, is the fact that Narcan saved my life! Narcan kept me alive until I wanted to live! While I can admit that my son was unfortunately NOT enough to keep me sober then, he is my motivation today. Had Narcan not been available to me; or had someone who felt that I DIDNT DESERVE Narcan been there that day, I would have NEVER had the chance to get sober and my son would be growing up without ever knowing his mom. I've truly enjoyed sharing my 3 years of recovery with you all!
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