Zelaya's Story

Zelaya Olivia Ebanks 

8/18/206-5/12/2021

Forever 17

 

On the Wednesday after Mother's Day...May 12th, 2021 8:51 AM...My wife Bree & my 4 year old daughter Addie found Zelaya, face down in her bed cold and unresponsive. Bree was instructed to turn her over and attempt to revive her but Zelaya's body was stiff and blue. 

 

Frantically trying to revive her, she was shocked in terror because Z’s face was deformed from how she died face down into her pillow. 

 

That image of our beautiful girl will forever haunt us. The nightmares, the emotional unrest, the shame and guilt of a parent asking “Where did I fail her?” 

 

We waited for months not knowing how she died until finally we found out fentanyl was in her system. She had half a pill of percocet in her pocket.

 

She died from taking half a pill.

​

Someone she trusted gave her a percocet that had fentanyl in it. Some of her friends knew she was using street percocet but no one thought telling us might save her life.

​

This is how we met the fentanyl crisis.

 

We didn’t realize how big of a problem this is in the US.

 

106,854 people died from this in 2021.

 

That’s an average of 292 people per day. 

 

This killer doesn’t care.

 

Prince, Tom Petty, other famous people…and our Zelaya…fentanyl doesn’t care. The person who made the pills doesn’t care who dies. In some cases the dealers take pride when someone dies from their product.

 

We have to do something.

 

Help us share these stories in every school, church and college. 

 

Help us save people today.

​

Zelaya's Step Dad,

​

Josh Gretz

​

​