Megan Angelina Webbley, 31, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, September 29. Specifically, she died of an overdose, finally losing her battle with addiction. She was in Manchester, N.H., seeking treatment for her addiction. We have no clear picture of what went wrong. Megan leaves behind her mother, Dorothy Provenzano, of Boca Raton, Fla.; her father, Edwin Webbley, of Middlebury, Vt.; and her brother, Michael Henderson, of Los Angeles, Calif.; as well as many loving cousins, aunts and uncles. She also left behind four beautiful children who were collectively the light of her dark life.
Though shadowed by opiate addiction, Megan enjoyed a big smile and an infectious laugh. She loved all kinds of music, dancing and doing her makeup. Empathetic in the extreme, she was the underdog’s biggest advocate. And against all circumstances, when she could be, she was a loving, gentle and doting mother. Just last year, she spent a few hours in the pool with all four kids (the youngest has since been adopted by a loving family), and it was a rollicking, madcap outing featuring a waterslide and peals of laughter. It was at that point when she was the happiest we had seen her in years.
Megan grew up in St. Albans and Georgia, Vt., participating in dance and swimming. She proved to be an adventuresome reader and a fearless jumper off cliffs. But on July 1, 2005, she was once again at a cliff on Eagle Bay in Burlington. I was sitting at my desk on the first day of a new job, and a Vermont State Policeman called to tell me to drive to the emergency room at the University of Vermont Medical Center. I was told that she had been pushed off the cliffs and hit the rocks below … with her face. Having been rescued by a man in a kayak and EMTs, she was being stitched up, and her jaw was wired shut. They suspected a TBI, but when they prescribed her liberal doses of opiates, she lost control of her life. She would be in and out of rehab — and jail — for the next 14 years.
To editorialize, I am hoping that the Department for Children and Families rethinks its mission to be the punisher of addicted mothers, the separator of families and the arbiter of children’s futures, and instead embrace a mission of enhanced rehabilitation. We, as a state, are overwhelmed by addiction. We have almost nowhere to turn. I encourage enhanced funding for treatment in general and using DCF as a gateway for mothers with addiction to get help. Because, as one would guess, once the mother is separated from her children, desperation sets in, even with the brightest and most determined of mothers — and Megan Angelina Webbley was that bright and determined mother … with a fatal disease and a dearth of treatment options.
—Submitted by Megan’s father
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This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2019.
It’s a true travesty what happened to Megan and her entire family. I’m am very saddened to read this. Another thing that isn’t talked about much is that in VT there is no legal right for grandparents to get custody of the children when DCF wants to take the children away from the parent(s). That is extremely unfair and damaging to children and families.
I am so sorry. I will share this with the hopes that it will reach at least one person.
Thank you for your strength and courage in sharing Megans story. She sounds like a fearless warrior that lost her final battle. I hope her family will be able to wrap their loving arms around her blessed children and even more so that the system will move in a positive direction to help and not punish those afflicted by opiates.
I am deeply sorry for your heartbreaking loss. As a mother of an addict, I relate to so much of your and Megan’s story. Thank you for adding awareness on the issues of addiction. Treatment truly is the only answer, but not all addicts are willing to commit. The State should work harder to restore families, not rip them apart.
My sincerest condolences,
Jan Baker
Tennessee
I am very sorry this beautiful young woman and her family have lived this life. I also have a daughter who is an addict with a child. This is the most important obituary I have ever read, I pray it helps one family. Thank you for this, and I pray for all of you, those precious children and for all of us that love this on going nightmare.
No parent should have to bury their children. All states need better mental health care, and compassion not making people feel they deserve less respect then others, and most definitely addiction and recovery centers that have a program for addicted parents. It does a number on you when you lose custody of your kids. Thanks for sharing her story with the world as difficult of a decision that must have been it needed to be heard. She’s your Guardian Angel now. I feel we need to put a program like Florida has a Marchmen act minus the being put in jail. Perhaps a locked metal health facility with dual diagnosis cause this does affect your mental health too. Xoxo Praying for all of you.
May God rest her soul….Drugs and alcohol have taken too many of our loved ones….
So very sorry for your loss. You are so very brave for sharing your beautiful daughters sad story. Its a very hard thing to deal with and unless you have lived that life no one knows what a person is going through. I live with chronic pain every day now for the last five years. I am lucky that I have support from my family for this. May god bless you all and soar with the angels dear girl.