12/21/24
August 05, 2012
Andy Reid's Son Dies at Eagles Training Camp: Garrett Reid, the 29-year-old son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, was found dead early Sunday morning in his Lehigh University room at the team's training camp. Garrett, the oldest of Reid's five children, was sentenced to 23 months in prison in 2007 after crashing a car while he was on heroin. He was in camp to help with strength and conditioning. "Upon arrival attempts were made to revive the individual," said Lehigh police chief Edward Shupp. "They were unsuccessful. ... There were no suspicious activities." The Reids had been trying to help their son beat drug addiction since he began using his freshman year at BYU in 2002, Andy Reid and his wife Tammy told Philly Magazine. "We are a close family, but the drugs, they don't care about that. If you just happen to get hooked up with the right one, it possesses you, and nothing else matters," Andy said.
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posted by TheQatarian at 06:39 PM on August 05, 2012
When I think of everything that Andy Reid has been through, both on and off the field, I really want to say:
Can we just agree that he is an unbelievably rock solid and resilient human being, and call off the endless adversity testing? The man's had enough. And this is the worst.
posted by beaverboard at 08:13 PM on August 05, 2012
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posted by Howard_T at 08:51 PM on August 05, 2012
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posted by yzelda4045 at 11:35 AM on August 06, 2012
Until I read the interview with the Reids, I didn't realize how long they'd struggled with Garrett's drug addiction and what they'd done hoping to help him. It was easier to dismiss the situation as one where a career-driven parent had let a child running amok.
posted by rcade at 12:15 PM on August 06, 2012
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posted by insomnyuk at 02:13 PM on August 06, 2012
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posted by Scottymac at 02:28 PM on August 06, 2012
I thought I had read about Garrett Reid's addiction problem here maybe a couple of years ago, but maybe it was somewhere else. What rcade said. I hope that this helps people develop a more nuanced understanding about addiction, and the limitations of what loved ones can do to help an addict, no matter how willing and determined they are.
The simplistic beliefs:
- There's always something you can do to fix it. - If an addict doesn't recover, it's because they don't want to. - If an addict really loves those around them, they will just get over it.
The painful truth:
- You can't fix other people. - Someone can want desperately to get better and still be unable to heal. - Someone can want desperately to get better and still be unable to accept help. - Help and healing can only come to someone who is ready to accept them. - Readiness to accept help and healing is not a matter of choice. - Inability to turn your life around is not a matter of will. Failure to turn your life around may be, but that's another matter. - An addict can love others deeply, and yet be unable to change.
The answer to the inevitable "Okay, so, what do you do???" question is left as an exercise for the student.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:00 AM on August 07, 2012
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