Your worst fear as a parent has come true in a way you never imagined: Not only is your child dead, but his death is labeled a drug overdose. Few would blame you for trying to hide the truth, but Tom and Stephanie Quehl never considered it. Instead, they turned their son\u2019s death into a call for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jack was successful in high school and college, he\u2019d traveled the world and had a large circle of friends. \u201cHe liked to gain knowledge, but he also loved sports,\u201d Tom says. \u201cHe was funny. He started an Instagram called Number One Water Fan where he\u2019d rate water. They were great\u2026like he\u2019d rate Skyline Chili\u2019s water versus McDonald\u2019s water.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 23, Jack accepted his first job and moved from his hometown of Cincinnati to Baltimore. He had the world at his feet. How did he end up dead? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On September 18th<\/sup>, 2021, Jack and his friends met at a bar to watch football, and Jack and his friend Chris continued the evening at Jack\u2019s place. The next day, their friends texted, then called. When Jack and Chris didn\u2019t respond, they went to Jack\u2019s house. They found Chris dead, and Jack was unresponsive. One called Stephanie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only thing I remember him saying is, \u2018I\u2019m so sorry, Mrs. Quehl. I\u2019m so sorry.\u2019 Then I said, \u2018Does he have a heartbeat?\u2019 I don\u2019t even know if I asked what happened\u2026I thought okay, we\u2019re going to go get to him\u2026 I don\u2019t even know how we knew it was cocaine,\u201d Stephanie says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After a night where Jack coded multiple times, the doctors said there was nothing more they could do. There was no hope. Tom and Stephanie let Jack go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They questioned Jack\u2019s friends after learning he had cocaine and fentanyl in his system\u2014had he been an addict? His friends said no\u2026but admitted Jack and many of them were casual drug users. \u201cThe friend group said that recreational use was around all the time,\u201d Stephanie recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In any other era, casual drug use likely wouldn\u2019t have killed Jack. But this is the era of fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fentanyl is as a lab-made opioid used to treat people following surgery or who suffer chronic pain, and legal, pharmaceutical fentanyl continues to be used this way. However, because it\u2019s synthetic, fentanyl is relatively easy to make. It\u2019s also extremely powerful\u201450 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n and highly addictive. Its manufacturing ease, potency, and addictive properties make it attractive to drug dealers, especially since it\u2019s undetectable to the naked eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drug dealers add fentanyl to street drugs and in some cases pass it off as something else completely. Current DEA testing shows that five out of ten fake prescription pills contain fentanyl and not the Xanax, Percocet or other medications they\u2019re purported to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagining what happened to Jack and Chris that night is easy enough. Two guys, feeling young and invincible, decide to cap off the evening with a little cocaine. It\u2019s nothing they and their peer group haven\u2019t done before. But this time, although they don\u2019t know it, the cocaine has been mixed with fentanyl. They die because fentanyl is so powerful that it only takes two milligrams, the equivalent of five to seven grains of salt, to kill. \u201cI talked to my kids about not driving drunk and about not having unsafe sex,\u201d Stephanie says. \u201cI had no idea I should warn them about fentanyl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Word of Jack\u2019s death spread quickly through Tom and Stephanie\u2019s community, and they were open about it from the start. \u201cI never really thought to hide it,\u201d Tom says. At Jack\u2019s funeral Mass, Tom spontaneously decided to take it head on. He stood before the packed church and spoke of their love for Jack. Then he said, \u201cWe know how Jack died. We know you know how Jack died.\u201d Turning to the young people, Tom asked them to make better choices than Jack and added, \u201cIf you can\u2019t do it for yourself, if you can\u2019t do it for your friends or your family, do it for Jack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That \u201cDo It for Jack<\/a>\u201d moment of inspiration became a rallying cry. \u201cStephanie said we need to do something. We need to start something and talk to people so no one else loses their Jack,\u201d Tom remembers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither of them had any experience running a non-profit\u2014Tom worked in IT and Stephanie was an elementary school teacher\u2014but they pulled together family, friends, and neighbors and got to work. Tom and Stephanie did their first fentanyl awareness presentation in 2022. Since then, the Jack Quehl Foundation has talked to 10,000 students and parents, delivered 4 million media impressions, and testified on behalf of an Ohio bill to combat the fentanyl crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not easy. They\u2019re up against young people who believe it won\u2019t happen to them and parents who think Not my kid<\/em>. Telling Jack\u2019s story means reliving his loss every time. They feel frustration that his death is labeled an overdose. \u201cJack didn\u2019t go out to die that night. Jack didn\u2019t know fentanyl was in the cocaine,\u201d Tom explains. The Quehls say Jack, and everyone like him who died from fentanyl they never intended to take, were poisoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeeping going is a challenge,\u201d Stephanie admits. But the positive reaction from students and adults at their talks bolsters them. Other parents reach out with stories of their children lost to fentanyl poisoning. Sharing knowledge in hopes of making a difference feels good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tom and Stephanie want people to know that illegal fentanyl is an issue that impacts everyone. \u201cFentanyl\u2019s not a red problem or a blue problem. You can be a Democrat, or a Republican, or a Libertarian and die,\u201d Tom says. Stephanie adds, \u201cThere are no boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Jack Quehl Foundation\u2019s message is simple: Any drug bought on the street or online could be contaminated with enough fentanyl to kill, no matter how authentic it looks. Talk to your kids, your co-workers, your friends, and spread the word. And if you\u2019re faced with a choice to use a recreational drug or take an illegally sold \u201cprescription\u201d pill, stop. Make the lifesaving choice. Do it for Jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tracy Vonder Brink<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jack Quehl Foundation board member<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information, please visit the Jack Quehl Foundation website at https:\/\/www.doitforjack.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Your worst fear as a parent has come true in a way you never imagined: Not only is your child dead, but his death is labeled a drug overdose. Few would blame you for trying to hide the truth, but Tom and Stephanie Quehl never considered it. Instead, they turned their son\u2019s death into a … <\/p>\n