Wade McLeod Grussmeyer

(1976 - 1998)

Wade - I miss you so much. You were such a warm, sweet caring young man with a huge heart. "Who would have ever guessed" plays over and over in my head. Losing you has changed me forever and I know I will never adjust to life without you. My heart will forever ache as each day passes. I will Love You Forever and not a day will pass that my thoughts and prayers aren't with you. Until We Meet Again Wade All My Love Forever, Mom


     My son Wade suffered from mental illness which is what lead to his drug addiction. At the age of 16 he suffered from an unexplained seizure. (No - there were no drugs in his system that caused the seizure.) The medications that he had to take caused him to be overly tired, they affected his vision, and the depression gradually grew. His mental health declined gradually until his death at age 22. Wade has been a gifted athlete, the one everyone wanted to date, and very anti drugs most of his life. At the age of 20, he broke up with the girl he believed he would marry. This caused his first psychotic break and was the beginning of 6 hospital stays resulting from suicide attempts. He was searching for a cure to ease the demons in his head; the drugs did the job of self medicating. I always said that Wade was sane enough to know what insanity was. He tried for so long to hide the symptoms - if only he had opened up to us, maybe things may have been so different. Drug addiction is the symptom of some very serious mental conditions. Most of our loved ones who fall victim to drugs are trying to escape severe depression, bi polar disease, schizophrenia, schizo-effective disorder, extreme low self esteem, overcoming some sort of abuse they suffered as a child. The list goes on and on. Most who try drugs usually walk away eventually, the ones with mental problems are the ones dying. 
     Losing Wade is something I will never get over. I never could have imaged the pain would hurt as much today as the day I learned he was gone. The day I learned of his death is like a picture etched in my mind. I can remember every detail of the day and the exact way I felt. I believe in my heart that he has gone home and crossed over to a better place. I look forward to the day I go home and he greets me with that sweet little grin that so many remember and he seems so famous for, as he helps me cross over to join him. Wade is missed by so many.


Michele Grussmeyer
Proud Mother of Wade McLeod  Grussmeyer