Diana Adamcik remembers her husband Kyle Mortimore as a hard worker and a dedicated father who would do anything for anybody.
“It’s hard. He was our protector,” Adamcik said on Saturday. “He was our main provider. I just feel I like I have lost a huge piece of me.”
In addition to raising their own three kids, Mortimore recently took on his brother’s two sons when his brother was no longer able to because of mental health and substance abuse issues.
But last month Mortimore’s own struggles caught up with him. On March 22, the 30-year-old man died in a Calgary hospital of a suspected drug overdose.
“He was getting help and he was going to counselling,” Adamcik said through tears. “He wanted to change his life.
“He loved everybody. He loved the kids.”
Mortimore and Adamcik ran a construction company and did snow removal to provide for five kids.
Mortimore’s aunt, Lisa Johnstone, recalled that on the surface, everything seemed fine.
“Addicts hide things and they are shameful,” Johnstone said. “I don’t believe there is a stereotypical person who is using cocaine. It’s the CEO of an oil company. It’s a construction worker. It’s all walks of life.”
The family is now waiting for the toxicology report and tests that will determine if the cocaine Mortimore was using was laced with carfentanil, one of the most toxic opioids currently known.
“I think there is a huge concern,” Johnstone said. “One little granule of that would put down an elephant, so if anything is in your cocaine, you don’t know what you’re getting when you go to the street and you’re buying drugs — you have no idea.”
According to Alberta Health Services, “there are reports of drug dealers adding carfentanil to traditional drugs because it is cheaper and more potent and easier to obtain than heroin or cocaine.
“It is unlikely that drug users are aware that they are receiving drugs laced with carfentanil, and may be more likely to overdose when taking their usual dose,” AHS said.
READ MORE: Trial begins for 2 men accused in fentanyl-laced cocaine deaths in Saskatoon
Mortimore’s family wants others to know there is help out there. They are encouraging family members to reach out to loved ones who are dealing with addictions.
“We have to be there for them and support them all the time,” Johnstone said,” not just at a birthday celebration or family intervention — we have to be more present.
“You don’t know when you’re buying drugs on the street — you don’t know what you’re getting and you don’t know if that’s going to be your last time,” Johnstone added. “People don’t think that. They just think, ‘I want to feel better.'”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Adamcik and the five children, who range in age from six to 14.