Mom In Viral Overdose Photo Celebrates 3 Years Of Sobriety

November 6, 2019

Three years ago, Indiana mom Erika Hurt went viral for overdosing on heroin in her car with her infant son in the back seat.

The photo was posted by a police officer with the intention to raise awareness about the opioid epidemic in America.

On October 22, Erika celebrated three years sober with a special photo shoot with her son.

"Today marks THREE ENTIRE YEARS of sobriety for me!" Erika wrote on Facebook. "Y'all already know, but allow me to recap. 3 years ago I was receiving Narcan to bring me back to life after I had overdosed on heroin; all while my son, my mom, and her wife stood and watched. While those are such emotional moments for my family to recall, that's really not what is MOST important today."

Narcan is an emergency treatment used to reverse narcotic drug overdoses.

She continued: "What is really important today, is the fact that Narcan saved my life! Narcan kept me alive until I wanted to live! While I can admit that my son was unfortunately NOT enough to keep me sober then, he is my motivation today. Had Narcan not been available to me; or had someone who felt that I DIDNT DESERVE Narcan been there that day, I would have NEVER had the chance to get sober and my son would be growing up without ever knowing his mom."

Erika said she was embarrassed and humiliated after the photo taken by police went viral, but hitting rock bottom helped her realize that she needed to get clean for good.

Now, Erika is going viral again for a much better reason. She's received thousands of encouraging messages from strangers on Facebook.

"For those of you who are coming to my profile to send me encouraging messages; I would like you all to know that I am so grateful for each and everyone one of you and you guys are a very large part of what keeps me sober," she wrote in an update.

"I have been receiving THOUSANDS of messages; almost too many to keep up and some are even getting lost in my inbox, but I am doing my best to respond to each of you. Just know that I see them, and I am so grateful!"

But Erika still credits her sobriety to her son.

"What caused me to have the true want and desire to stay sober was my son," she told Inside Edition. "Me being away from him really hurt our bond. I missed his first birthday, I missed his first Thanksgiving, I missed his first steps, his first words – each time he hit a new milestone, I had to live that painful moment of not being there for him."