Dad Drops to Knees When Cops Say Daughter Is Dead. Tells Her Goodbye by Zipping Body Bag
On Christmas Eve, Tim Sherman received a text message from the local police department. Thinking he might be needed to help bring toys to a family in need, he called the station.
But after being connected to a detective, he was given the most devastating news of his life.
That’s when he was told that his 23-year-old daughter Karisten was found dead in her apartment. “I immediately fell to my knees in the snow and began to cry like a baby,” he said.
Tim’s daughter was a recovering heroin addict. After struggling to stay off the drug for years, she’d finally managed to stay clean for over a year.
Tim had even taken Karisten to her first narcotics anonymous meeting and she promised she’d never go back.
“Daddy, I don’t want to go back to that stuff ever again,” she’d said to him. But her dad promised her that no matter what, he’d stay by her side to the very end.
“If you can’t kick the dragon for good I will be the one to zip you up,” he told her, “but I will be with you every step of the way when you need me.”
And even when his worst fear became reality, Tim kept his promise. He raced to the police department and they escorted him to her apartment.
“I thought the love she had for me would keep her from going back to that drug ever again,” he wrote. But Tim knew that reality was much different when he saw his daughter in her bed.
Warning: the following description may be considered graphic to readers.
“She had hit such a (sic) lethal dose that when she went into a hemorrhaging arrest that she sat up from her pillows she was propped on in her bed, had her arms straight out with a slight bend at the elbow, fists clenched, with her thumbs tucked under her fingers grasping so tight at what looked like she was trying to grab life back in her,” Tim wrote.
“She was all blue faced, veins out, had a little blood from her nose and her teeth were so tight together that her mouth wouldn’t open.”
But keeping his promise, he carefully laid out the body bag and placed her inside. He said his goodbyes before zipping up the bag.
The heartbroken father posted his entire story on Facebook in hopes that he could warn others against having to endure the same pain he has.
“Do not be blind to this,” he wrote. “And do not let this drug fool you!”
“Please, please, please, wrap your arms around your loved ones and let them know how much you care and love them,” Tim ended. “Because tomorrow is never guaranteed.”
Hopefully, his heartbreaking story can help others to turn their lives around. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they grieve the loss of their daughter.
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