Gail Morris's Short Story 'A Mother Lifts Her Son'

Heroine can leave people in terrible conditions and even cause death. The drug can destroy not only the life of one person, but it can destroy the lives of many. “Not only are you affecting your own life, but the shrapnel that is produced goes to the people you love the most,” (Gail Morris np). It is assumed that people turn to heroin because it is cheaper than prescription pain killers. In the short story “A Mother Lifts Her Son, Slowly, from Heroin’s Abyss”, written by Katharine Seelye, Gail Morris woke up one morning to find her son, Alex, nearly dead on the sofa. Alex had been using heroin the night before and overdosed while his mother was not home. With hopes for a brighter future, Alex and Gail strived for progress everyday and Alex’s condition slowly got better.

When she returned home she saw her teenage son, asleep on the couch. Ms. Morris assumed that her son had just fallen asleep there waiting for her to get home. Alex was found, by his mother, on the couch the next morning and was unable to wake up. When Ms. Morris found Alex he was barely breathing and his body was inflexible. Afterwards, Ms. Morris came to find that her son had overdosed on heroin. Doctors told Ms. Morris that her son would not survive. Alex did live, but for six weeks he was in a coma. Alex was unable to do simple tasks such as speak or swallow. “Alex plunged into a state that was neither dead nor functional” (Seelye np). Doctors are expecting to see more outcomes like Alex’s because of an increase in heroin abuse. Alex stayed in the hospital for fourteen months. Alex was over six feet tall and his weight had dropped to ninety pounds. Thirteen years after Alex’s overdose he was still unable to perform simple, everyday tasks on his own. Being divorced, Ms. Morris cared for Alex by herself. Therefore, Ms. Morris was forced to give up her former job as an executive for Citibank to care for her