Personal Stories: A Dedication
This web site is dedicated to two heroin addicts - Jenny and Eric Partridge from the USA .
Eric died of a heroin overdose on September 11th, 2004 , leaving Jenny a widow at the age of 29. Jenny's life has been destroyed by heroin and by the loss of the man she describes as her "beautiful butterfly and soul mate". She's managed to stay clean now for more than a year but says her mind, body and soul cry out for another fix every minute of the day. Sometimes she's overwhelmed by the desire to use one last "blast" of the drug she now despises so she can join her beloved Eric.
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The couple had sworn to kick the habit after years of abuse which wreaked havoc in their own lives and caused untold misery to all those closest to them. Jenny resorted to stealing, begging and even working in "massage parlours" in order to feed her addiction. The heavy price paid by both families included the bankruptcy of both Jenny's and Eric's fathers. Heroin took control of the couple to such an extent that they sold their homes and cars and pawned their possessions. Everything went to line the pocket of their millionaire Mexican dealer.
When Eric was jailed for drug offences in 2003 it was a wake up call for the pair who realised they were hurtling towards their own destruction.
Without any professional support or rehab, Jenny managed to stay clean throughout Eric's incarceration. The withdrawal was so excruciating at times that she banged her head against the wall until it bled. At one point she was admitted to hospital throwing up bile and blood. In the agony of withdrawal she screamed at medical staff to give her a fix. But she got through it, determined to make a fresh start with Eric on his release from prison. He died of an overdose shortly after he was freed. He was just 32.
Jenny says she can't understand why she's still alive after the way she's abused her body. There have been times when she's passed out after hitting an artery instead of a vein. Foul smelling pus has oozed from a hole in her arm, the size of a fist, and an endless series of abscesses have left scars on her arms and backside. And she's done irrevocable damage to her bladder and ovaries.
But this is one brave lady. She doesn't really want to carry on living without Eric but she thinks she may have been spared in order to tell her story and maybe deter others from following her along the road to hell. She also feels she deserves to feel the pain she caused others during what she calls her "mad junkie rampage".
Heroin, she says, is a "vile demon" like no other drug. "It's like your body opens a Pandora's Box. Once you get a taste for it, it never leaves you alone."
Jenny doesn't want anyone to endure the horrors she's been through. So if you'd like to talk to her or ask her advice on the subject of heroin addiction, please send a message via this site and we'll make sure she gets it: click here
