A Light in the Darkness

Tragic death spurs action to prevent and overcome drug problems

A child’s death of unnatural causes at a young age is as crippling a blow as any parent might suffer.

But Wayne and Christy Campbell are determined to prevent the tragedy that struck their family from striking others.

Last summer, the Campbells’ son Tyler died of a heroin overdose at age 23. In response, they, along with a steadily growing group of community members, formed Tyler’s Light, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and promoting education about drug addiction and prevention.

Rise and Fall

Tyler was forever conscientious of others’ feelings, Wayne says – gentle, reluctant to exclude anyone, always making sure everyone got home safely.

“He didn’t think anything of showing affection,” Christy says.

He was also a dedicated athlete. Tyler played football all four years at Pickerington High School North. After graduation in 2007, he made it his goal to play Division I college football, and even though he was not able to secure a scholarship right away, he quickly managed to get a spot as a preferred walk-on for the University of Akron Zips.

“He said, ‘I’ll prove to them that I’m worth it,’” Christy says.

Though he enjoyed great success on the football field at first, injuries started to accumulate during his sophomore year. In January 2009, he had surgery on his shoulder. He was given a prescription for painkillers.

Friends and family members soon began to notice changes in Tyler – he never seemed to have any money, he was depressed a lot, his grades suffered and he made poorer decisions on the football field. In November 2009, he failed a drug test, and his family helped place him in a rehabilitation program over Christmas break to treat his addiction.

But every breakthrough in rehabilitation would soon be followed by a relapse, and Tyler’s inability to obtain prescription drugs led him to an even worse problem: heroin. Heroin, Wayne says, is cheap and easily available, and it’s not unusual for prescription opiate addicts to become heroin addicts.

In his final stint in inpatient treatment at a Cleveland facility, Tyler began making plans for his life – he wanted to go back to school and change his area of study from physical therapy to drug counseling. He also intended to quit playing football, which he knew would lead to more injuries, and instead focus on playing baseball, as well as assisting his father, a baseball coach at Westerville Central High School.

Christy brought him back to Columbus, and after he got home, he hugged his younger brothers, Alex and Ryan, and headed to his Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The next morning – July 22, 2011 – Christy found Tyler dead in his room. He had overdosed on heroin.

“He knew the risk, but obviously, (the addiction) was too strong,” Christy says.

Searching for a Solution

Two weeks after Tyler’s death, a group of neighborhood friends began meeting to discuss the issues brought up by Tyler’s premature death.

Out of those meetings was born Tyler’s Light. The name, Wayne says, refers to the effect Tyler has had on all who knew him.

Key to the organization’s goals is prevention, and it pursues this end in a variety of ways. Wayne has spoken to seniors at both Pickerington high schools, as well as to students at Ridgeview Junior High School and other schools, universities and businesses throughout Ohio.

“Prevention, for us, is educating parents and kids,” Wayne says.

Dedicated education efforts are nec-