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Mom whose heroin overdose photo went viral in 2016 now has a lot to celebrate
Image source: 'Good Morning America' video screenshot

Mom whose heroin overdose photo went viral in 2016 now has a lot to celebrate

'It's hard to look at, but I wouldn't be where I am today without that picture.'

Three years ago, Erika Hurt became the face of drug addiction after a picture of her overdosing on heroine went viral. The mother was shown incapacitated in the driver's seat of her vehicle, while her infant son, Parker, sat crying in the back seat.

Now, Hurt is celebrating three years of sobriety, and is using the occasion to bring awareness to the treatment that saved her life.

What are the details?

In a Facebook post on The Addict's Diary, Hurt wrote, "Millions saw me overdoes after a photo taken of me by a police officer went viral. None of those people have seemed to have time to reach out and check on me, so here is an update: Today I celebrated three years clean and my son gets to have his mommy back. How about you make THAT go viral!"

On her own Facebook page, Hurt went into greater detail about her recovery, and credited the emergency treatment Narcan with reviving her and saving her life. "Had Narcan not been available to me, or had someone who felt that I DIDN'T 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."

Hurt told Today Parents of the 2016 overdose photo, "It's hard to look at, but I wouldn't be where I am today without that picture."

Following her arrest, Hurt served six months in jail. It was during that time that a visit from her son sparked a change in her. "He didn't know who I was or how to interact with me," Hurt said of Parker. "That was, ultimately, when I was decided I truly wanted to be sober."

These days, Hurt spends three evenings a week leading recovery groups in Columbus, Indiana. She told Today, "It isn't easy, but all the encouragement keeps me going. Parker is counting on me and I can't give up."

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