James Conrad
Fans of college football know the ESPN sideline reporter Lauren Sisler for her sunny personality. That’s why it’s come as a shock to learn that she lost both her parents to drug overdoses within hours of one another back in 2003.
Sisler’s Parents’ Deaths
Back in 2003, Sisler was in college when both of her parents died of drug overdoses just hours apart. Sisler’s mother Lesley died first after she ingested an entire pack of fentanyl. She was found unresponsive on the front porch of their Virginia home. Hours later, Sisler’s father George did the same thing, and he was found on the kitchen floor.
Afterwards, police found empty prescription bottles with 348 OxyContin pills, 60 oxycodone pills and 82 other painkiller tablets. Somehow, Lesley and George had hidden their addiction from their children and other family members.
“Everyone was in absolute shock,” Sisler told The New York Post.
Sisler is now opening up about her parents’ deaths in her new book “Shatterproof: How I Overcame the Shame of Losing My Parents to Opioid Addiction (And Found My Sideline Shimmy.”
“I realized that holding in their secrets and holding in the shame [they had surrounding their drug use] didn’t serve my parents well,” she explained. “And it didn’t serve those around them well.
“And then as I started telling more people the truth, I realized that people who loved my parents didn’t think any differently of them,” Sisler continued. “If anything, they found peace in knowing what happened, and they didn’t love them any less, didn’t love me any less.”
While many people recognize the scourge of fentanyl, few realize how long the problem has been going on.
Sisler Wants To Help Others
Sisler has since found that the truth can save lives.
“I realized, Hey, I can be open about this, and while it doesn’t change who [my parents] were or doesn’t change who I am, it can ultimately help somebody who is struggling,” she stated.
Sisler went on to say that she had a happy childhood.
“Sports was in the blood,” she said, revealing that she got into gymnastics early in life. “My parents had to take me to the ER too many times because of all the jumping on the beds.”
“I always felt loved and taken care of,” Sisler recalled. “Were we spoiled? Yes. Were we disciplined? Sometimes. We probably could have been disciplined a little more, but we were very fortunate to have parents who would do anything for us.”
‘The Truth Really Does Set You Free’
Now, however, she wants to use their deaths to help others.
“The truth really does set you free,” she said.
Sisler concluded by saying that she believes her parents would be proud of her for what she is doing.
“No matter how much pain and sadness they were going through when they left, I truly believe they are here in this moment, just smiling so big, because they know their story is making an impact,” she said. “I truly, truly believe from the bottom of my heart that their story is saving lives.”
It’s no secret that America is in the midst of an opioid crisis. We applaud Sisler for coming forward with her parents’ story and using it to help save lives.