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.
Far too many. Prayers and hugs. Praying bold families like you help make changes happen. Thank you for Sharing your beautiful daughters story with us.
This hits very close to home and is incredibly heartbreaking…it would be wonderful if DCF was a source of assistance where mothers could go to for help in this battle but unfortunately they’re a source for ripping families apart and creating problems that don’t exist. This isn’t hearsay, I myself am a victim of prescribed opioids for years and although under different circumstances, DCF took my family from me and I had to fight really hard to get them back. I know a few families that had to fight to get back together. They aren’t a source for positive assistance.
sorry for your loss, may she rest safely in the arms of the angels
This hit me to the core. I will state I don’t know her ,but I know her. I was her . I am so sorry. I am so so sorry. I cannot ever say anything that will right these many many wrongs. She was robbed at an early moment in life from her later moments. She had something taken she hadn’t even received yet. Again my condolences.
I am so sick for your loss. My son died from a heroin overdose and also suffered from opiate addiction due to a TBI. They did an article in Mountain Magazine. “The Spike in our Veins” about athletes and overdose. If I can help anyone with anything please call me. My name is Margery Keasler and my number is 802-310-3301
Also, I have a grief group for those lost to opiate overdose. GRASP( Grieving recovery after a substance passing). The pain is incomprehensible and please call if I can help in any way.
Condolences to the family. She sounds like a wonderful person. She had such a beautiful and radiant smile. No, the state should offer rehabilitation and not separate the mothers from addicted children. It’s also punishing the child who needs the mother. Isn’t there a home for addicted moms in New Hampshire?
What a tragedy that began from that accident.
Courage I can’t even wrap my mind around…to post a truthful, honest, account of your Angel. Words are limited to express my deepest sympathy.
So so very sorry for your profound loss! Love and hugs!
I too lost my daughter at age 37 to this disease in 2015. There are no words that even come close to describing the pain of this loss. If you have a Compassionate Friends group that meets in your area, I encourage you to attend and be with other parents who also have lost children. Thank you for using Megan’s obituary as a way to educate others about the crisis Vermont and every state is facing.
I was friends with Megan during junior high and lived just down the street from her for several years. Hearing of her death, at such a young age–at just a year older than me now–and of some brief idea of the deep pain and suffering she and her family has endured these past 14 years, is heart-wrenching.
Megan taught me how to apply makeup and encouraged me to try green olives for the first time. We danced and dressed up together. She had such a bright, warm enthusiasm and zest for life, music, beauty. I am grateful I had the chance to know her, if only for a little while.
I’m sorry to hear Megan’s life, health and connection with her children tragically veered so far off the track she seemed to be building towards in youth, and ended this way.
I wish her loved ones well. I hope you find peace and comfort in the happy memories you had with her, despite the deep pain and sorrow you must be overwhelmed with at the loss of such a lovely human, and the struggles you have been enduring for years as Megan fought her chemical dependence.
Thank you for your courage in sharing her story. To have a chance to heal others struggling with addiction, and their families, to try to prevent further lives from ending this way, talking openly, against stigma and shame, is essential. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to do that. Thank you.