Brenden Bickerstaff-Clark, 29, told his 8-year-old son his mom, Lacey Wood, passed away from a heroin overdose and took a video of the sit-down for the world to see. The Ohio father can be seen sitting with his young son Cameron at a picnic table, who was sitting beside his grandmother, holding his hand as he delivers the sad news. The boy’s reaction is truly heartbreaking.
As seen on the video above, Bickerstaff-Clark had to break out the bad news to him by starting with “I have something to tell you, OK?… Mommy died last night,” while holding his hand. In response, Cameron asks, “What? What do you mean, my mom? How?” Bickerstaff-Clark replies simply with “From drugs.” Cameron is then seen crying at the table while his grandmother tries to comfort him.
“I’m sorry,” Bickerstaff-Clark says as his son cries. “I love you. Do you need a hug?” Bickerstaff-Clark comes over to his son and hugs him, then tells the person filming “That’s enough.”
The video went viral when Bickerstaff-Clark decided to post the video in social media with a caption that says:
“This is for any and every addict with children. Today I had to tell my 8 year old son that his mommy died from a drug overdose last night. This is the realization and reality of our disease. Don’t let this disease have to make someone tell your child that you’re dead because of drugs.
This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. My son has no mother because of heroin…kinda hard to hear but u can hear what we’re saying. Please get help so our children don’t have to suffer.”
Although done with good intention, the video got mixed responses from the viewing public saying the video was staged or why the father had the audacity to film a very vulnerable moment. Bickerstaff-Clark denied the accusation, saying, “I am a recovering addict myself with 94 days clean today…please share n help maybe help save a child’s parent’s life.”
There were a lot of questions raised when this heartbreaking moment reached millions of viewers but a little reminder of how drugs can affect a child’s life wouldn’t hurt.