A California mother, who lost two of her teenager children to fentanyl-related overdoses, is urging parents and children to be more vigilant about the deadly drug.
Her beloved son and daughter, 18-year-old Tyler Gordon and 16-year-old Jenna Gordon, were both found unconscious in their bedrooms just months apart.
“It really is the invisible killer,” Tammy Lyon-Gordon from Riverside County said about the drug in an interview with KTLA. “They had no idea they were taking fentanyl. To have them die at home. A place they felt safe haunts me every day.”
Highlights
- A bereaved California mother has urged parents and children to be more vigilant about drugs.
- Tammy Lyon-Gordon lost her children, 18-year-old Tyler Gordon and 16-year-old Jenna Gordon, to fentanyl-related overdoses.
- “It really is the invisible killer,” the mother said. “They had no idea they were taking fentanyl."
- Tyler was found unconscious on the floor on April 23, 2020 while his younger sister lost her life in February, 2021.
A California mother has issued a warning about fentanyl after losing both her teenagers to the deadly drug
Image credits: GoFundMe
Image credits: GoFundMe
The mourning mother revealed that Tyler, prior to his death, had plans of joining Mt. Saint Jacinto College and then transferring to Cal State Fullerton to study music production.
He previously underwent outpatient treatment and group therapy for opioid addiction but managed to turn his life around in 2019, according to his mother. He detoxed and went on to excel in the same business as his mother.
However, in 2020, he bought what he thought was Percocet from Snapchat without knowing it contained fentanyl. The teenager overdosed in his bedroom and was found unconscious on the floor on April 23, 2020.
Tyler Gordon, 18, was found unconscious on his bedroom floor in 2020 after taking what he thought was Percocet
Image credits: Tribute Archive / Obituary
Months later, Tammy’s life was struck with tragedy again when she found her daughter Jenna and her boyfriend, Raymond Gene Tyrrell II, unconscious in her bedroom in February, 2021.
The teenagers had reportedly crushed and snorted a counterfeit Xanax pill, which was later found to be pure fentanyl.
After being rushed to the hospital, the boyfriend was resuscitated, but Jenna did not survive.
“This never should have happened,” the bereaved mother told KTLA. “It still doesn’t seem real to me.”
Jenna Gordon, 16, and her boyfriend, were both found unresponsive in her bedroom in 2021; only one of them survived after being rushed to the hospital
Image credits: GoFundMe
Image credits: GoFundMe
Fentanyl has become a massive problem in the U.S., particularly the state of California, which has one of the highest rates of fatal overdoses involving the drug.
The synthetic opioid can be dangerous due to its extreme potency and can be 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
Drug dealers often mix it with other substances like heroin or cocaine, making it more lethal without users even knowing. Its easy accessibility has driven a rise in overdose deaths, overwhelming the state's healthcare and emergency services.
“This drug that’s coming in from the Cartels is out there, and you need to be careful because if you get your hands on the wrong stuff, you can die,” Anthony Chrysanthis, Deputy Special Agent in Charge for the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), told the outlet.
“It really is the invisible killer,” the bereaved mother said. “They had no idea they were taking fentanyl"
Law enforcement officials have significantly clamped-down on the supply of fentanyl, and they continue to take efforts to keep the drug off the streets and especially away from the reaches of teenagers.
“Since 2023, we’ve recovered over 3 million fentanyl pills,” said Lt. Bobby Dean, who oversees the Sheriff’s Department’s Overdose Response Task Force. “Over 150 kilos of powdered fentanyl – that’s enough fentanyl to kill the entire state of California.”
As for Tammy,who is "living with the worst pain possible," she has only one message to save other families from a similar heartbreak: “Speak with your kids about the dangers. Don’t lose them to this drug.”