JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When Cami Caldwell lost her daughter Brittany to a fentanyl overdose in 2018, she felt like she was handed a life sentence without her daughter.
"I don't want no other parent to ever have to go through this because it's absolutely gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and it's forever," Caldwell said through tears.
Caldwell also lost her granddaughter. Brittany was 20 weeks pregnant.
She describes the conversation she had with co-workers after her daughter's death, highlighting the stigma overdoses carry.
"Patients of mine that knew my daughter was pregnant would ask, 'How is your daughter?' I would say that she had passed and they were like, 'Oh my gosh. What happened?' I would say, 'Oh, complications with the pregnancy.' I thought that's really sad that I feel I have to be dishonest," Caldwell told First Coast News.
Caldwell is turning her pain into a purpose by hosting a walk next Wednesday, August 31, on International Overdose Awareness Day on Jacksonville's Southbank Riverwalk.
"It's for our kids. It's for us who don't have a player in the game anymore. It's to honor, not shame," she said.
Caldwell's message comes as Florida's Attorney General warns of the dangers of drugs. More than 265,000 fentanyl pills that look like candy were seized at a US/Mexico border crossing earlier this month.
Caldwell hopes her loss will allow other families to gain an understanding one pill can kill.
"That is my prayer. That no other mother ever has to go through what I've been through, I'm almost four years into my life sentence," she said.
For more information on the walk, including to register, click here.