Pubdate: Mon, 13 Mar 2006
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2006 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Website: http://www.starnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Paul Bird
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain)

TWO SISTERS LIVES CHANGED FOREVER

The drug deaths of her half sister and nephew from a fentanyl overdose
nearly a year ago in Shelbyville changed Jackie Hyden's life.

The rural Knoxville, Tenn., homemaker now tells her family's story to
schoolchildren as part of a drug education program, reaching as many
as 800 children at a time.

"I tell them that drugs can kill, and they do kill," Hyden said during
a recent visit to her former hometown, Shelbyville. "If I save just
one person, it's worth it."

Anna Layton, 48, and her son, Christopher Layton, 28, died March 21 --
within an hour of each other -- in Shelbyville. Each died from chewing
and injecting fentanyl from a pain patch that a doctor had prescribed
for Anna Layton.

Anna Layton abused several prescriptions she obtained to control pain
caused by a shoulder injury, Hyden said.

Layton became addicted to heroin, a street drug, in her late teens,
her sister said.

"She got pregnant with Christopher and went cold turkey without drugs
for more than 20 years," Hyden said.

Shortly after Christopher Layton was born, his father, Steve Layton,
committed suicide.

"It was all over Anna telling him to get off drugs or she was leaving
him," Hyden said.

In 1996, drugs slipped back into Anna's life after she injured a
shoulder at work.

"She started again by taking muscle relaxers and pain medication given
to her by a doctor," Hyden said. "Soon, she began using the
prescription drugs to get high."

The medications were easy for Anna Layton to obtain from area doctors,
Hyden said.

One Indianapolis pain clinic stopped giving her prescriptions after
detecting she had been using marijuana.

Hyden said her sister simply found another doctor to give her a new
prescription.

In 1999, Hyden and her husband moved to the Knoxville area. She
occasionally returned to Shelbyville for short visits with her half
sister.

"We didn't grow up in the same house, but we became very close as
adults," Hyden said. "We often said nothing or nobody was going to
keep us apart. We were sisters."

During visits at Anna's Shelbyville apartment, Hyden caught her sister
shooting drugs into her neck, behind her knees and other locations.

"I tried tough love, too," Hyden said. "I took her home with me to
Tennessee and she stayed 3 1/2 weeks, and we thought she was going to
be all right."

The women often exchanged greeting cards pledging their love and
support for each other. They spoke nearly daily by telephone. On March
20, Anna told Hyden that Christopher was coming over for a big dinner.

"They had a drug party, instead," Hyden said. "Anna broke her promise.
She let drugs separate us forever."
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