Posted on 03/29/2017 7:15:49 PM PDT by TigerClaws
Isabella Marie Sammartano
With deep sadness we mourn the sudden passing of our dear daughter Isabella (Bella) Sammartano, age 20, who succumbed to her battle with addiction and died from a heroin overdose in our home on March 24, 2017. Showing strength, determination, and a love for life, Bella lived clean for the last 16 months before her sudden relapse last week, succumbing to this terrible disease, now an epidemic and taking far too many of our loved ones from us every day.
Bella will be remembered as intelligent and full of love, conviction, empathy, and with a sense of humor well beyond her years. Bella loved her family first, and here at home was where she felt safe and truly loved. Her empathy for others knew no bounds, and Bella was always quick to come to the defense of others. Bella loved the outdoors, the woods, and all the animals that lived there. She loved bones, fossils, rocks, feathers, mushrooms, and was generally in reverence of everything in the natural world. Bella could be found exploring the woods, observing nature, and reflecting on the science of things with a passion. Bella was also a talented artist who though secretive and modest about her abilities, was occasionally proud to share her amazing sketches with her family or closest friends.
After graduating from Kirkwood High School in 2014, Bella soon found herself struggling with the disease of addiction, and entered a number of recovery facilities in Minnesota, California, and Missouri, before returning to her Kirkwood home in 2016 and to her supportive and loving family. Here she attended St. Louis Community College at Meramec receiving the highest grades, making Dean’s List last semester, and where Bella was preparing herself for a future in the biological sciences. Bella had dreams. She spoke of graduate school and of working in a lab someday, and all of this seemed possible until her life was tragically cut short last week.
Bella is survived by her devoted and loving mom and dad, Christy Hathaway Sammartano and Dan Sammartano, and her adoring sister Francesca (Frankie) Sammartano, all of Kirkwood, Missouri. She also leaves behind her loving grandmother Carolyn Clark (Grandma Lyn) of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, and a loving and supportive family of Aunts, Uncles and cousins in Missouri and Massachusetts. These include her Aunt Valery Griffin (Uncle Pete) of Gill, MA, uncles Michael Hathaway (Katherine Mitchell) and Matthew Hathaway (Jessica Hathaway), of St. Louis, MO, and her uncle Chris Sammartano (Ann Fitzgerald) of Ipswich, MA. She also leaves her cousins Lexi Griffin of Gill, MA, Cooper Sammartano of Ipswich, MA, and Lucy, Romy and Ivy Hathaway all of St. Louis, MO. She also leaves behind her loving godmother Missy (Michel) Lewis, and “Aunt” Angela (Buckley) Martin, both of St. Louis. Bella is also survived by a lifetime of schoolmates, close friends, and people she came to know in and out of recovery.
Visitation: A Visitation will be held for the public at Bopp Chapel in Kirkwood, on Thursday, March 30, 2017 between 4:00 and 8:00 PM. A private service will be held in Massachusetts for close family.
Bella was a strong-willed woman choosing to fight the addiction her own way, but who would ultimately succumb to this terrible disease. It’s her family’s hope that her passing will bring awareness to heroin addiction as a treatable and organic disease, and to drug proliferation in our communities and homes. In honor of Bella’s short and wonderful life, please consider a donation to the Harris House Foundation, harrishousestl.org.
Let's dial it back to opioid addicts.
I've known two, one who passed away, who got hooked because they absolutely had long term unbearable pain. I've known one, who got hooked because it was a recreational pass time. Your statement fully applies to that individual.
Let's not lump every addict into the same group.
Is it generally a weakness? Yes. But with some, there really is a genetic predisposition to addiction that can be triggered through little falut of their own.
It takes the same three personality flaws to become an addict that it takes to be a felon:
Selfishness
Immaturity
Lack of foresight
I work with addicts/users and felons. Every day. They all have the same three issues, above. I can break their cycle if I can get them to remove just one of these three problems.
Oh, and a free tip: every single one of my people (135) has a tattoo. Every. Single. One.
Experience here with addicts as well.
But this kid would have done pot 20 years ago. Now heroin is all over our streets.
The real ‘gateway drug’ are prescription opiates. Doctors are still handing them out like candy and the medical establishment is making billions.
This is an organized attempt to kill off the American white population. No other explanation makes sense for it to be allowed to continue.
ok agree.
They’re not sending their best, are they folks?
The Mexican cartels must be paying off our politicians to the tune of billions to keep the pipeline flowing.
Why keep your opinions to yourself? Could your insights be helpful?
Is alcoholism a ‘disease’?
20 people may drink and drink similar amounts. 1 becomes an alcoholic. The rest go on to live normal lives.
Does disease mean no fault?
Well, rule out most heart disease due to diet and lack of exercise.
Cancer might be due to your smoking. That still a disease?
At least she died doing something she loved.
Opioid abuse often starts with easily obtainable doctor scrip for Oxy for an injury and roars off from there. It doesn’t take long to spiral from small Oxy abuse to heroin to death. Big pharma is pushing this as much as Latin drug labs.
Perhaps you are right when it comes to addictions in general. But when it comes to heroin I lump every single one of them together. There is no absolutely no excuse in getting addicted to heroin.
No sir. Alcoholism is weakness of character and self disciple, Don’t believe that crap. A disease is a germ in the air. What a bunch of hooey!!
A nice smile.
http://www.boppchapel.com/book-of-memories/2888640/Sammartano-Isabella/obituary.php
SAD.
A nation that can put a man on the moon and prevent polio can't figure out who's trafficking in addictive drugs and how to stop it?
It's a matter of will, and the decadence has destroyed this will along with morality, trust in God, respect for truth, and everything else that makes life beautiful and civilization important.
If the United States falls, the consequences will be unimaginably horrifying.
From the article: “Bella was a strong-willed woman choosing to fight the addiction her own way,”
I have overcome alcohol and tobacco addictions. Over 30 years for both. From this experience, I have learned it takes will power to just keep away from it. Period.
It’s too bad Bella died, but she was not strong willed if she died from the addiction.
Interestingly, the one who was a recreatoinal addict who died, had a tattoo. The two who were in pain and recovered, one, easily has, dozens. The one who didn't make it, I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. In fact, if she didn't, she would have.
An interesting insight, although I'm sure you will agree, not a condemnation of all tattoo owners.
bears repeating.....sadly
“
Bella was a strong-willed woman choosing to fight the addiction her own way”....that never ends well in my experience
I am sorry for this family’s loss but they are still in such denial.
No, she was probably not stupid, and I feel for her family. But she was selfish.
“She died because she was stupid.”
I bet in some ways she was stupid. I think all of us are stupid in some way. Whether she was stupid or not, however, I personally wish, in my darker moments, that I could put an end to every drug pusher in this world. Since she was so young - only 20 - and had already been clean for 16 months shortly before her death - that means she was using heroin or other hard drugs when she was only perhaps 16, 17, 18 years old. I doubt she picked up the addiction because she was trying to recapture the high she had developed an affinity for while taking pain meds (which is what happens to a surprising number of middle class women). No, she got into this purely for the pleasure of the high, for kicks. And I can’t help but think that means someone led her to this. I would like the name and address of that person so I can have a chat with him about personal responsibility or something like that.
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