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.
My heart breaks for your loss. Thank you for telling her difficult story.
This is heartbreaking It hits home as I also lost my beloved daughter Ashley Sessions Gebo on September 28th, 2016 of a drug overdose. The loss has been debilitating She left her 4-year-old son with the imprint of her death. I pray every day for some answers to this devastating epidemic.
So sorry for this ( yet another families ) loss.
Holly Nunn
Middlebury Vt.
What a lovely spirit she is. Sending blessings to Megans family and friends for courage and healing.
The Drs prescribe the opiates, knowing they’re additive, it’s hsappened to my young nephew, the systm is not just failind miserably, it’s killing our children & grandchildren. Parents, look out, they don’t get paid by keeping us healthy!
This is heartbreaking beyond words, for that beautiful young woman’s lost life and suffering, for her precious children whom will never recover from the loss of their birth mother, regardless of those that love and care for the children in her absence, for the family left behind to struggle with the feelings of inadequacy for being unable to save their loved one, and for society as a whole, because we have failed once again to provide sufficient resources to help heal this young life.
God rest Megan’s soul. I knew her and she AWAYS accepted me for who I was and am, and I remember taking lon walks with her and she was an amazing woman, strong, fierce and independent when needing to be. I think the only people she ever truly needed in life was her beautiful children and the support she received from her parents. I will miss you greatly, Megan, and I hope you find the peace you deserve and to her children; Your mommy will always be watching over you, and when you feel lonely (this part to her parents and loved ones also,) just talk to her like she is to there in he room with you.
I am so sorry for your loss of Meghan and for all the pain she endured being separated from her children. This speaks to the need for the development of treatment programs that involve parents and children together, preserving instead of destroying families.
Though it may have been caused by an act of cruelty on those cliffs, the system failed her and at a young age, she is lost to us all, especially her children. When we will ever learn.
A very brave response by her family. It would be all to easy to retreat into the pain of such a loss. Godspeed Megan and blessings to her family.
This is a heartbreaking recount of a life lost…far too soon. People become addicted to opiates as a result of injuries, and it changes their lives forever. The victims are family and loved ones who struggle to help. This is a reality that can happen to anyone. It is not restricted to poor ….it can happen to anyone child…spouse…it is a disease that steals everything you love and cherish. I praise the person who wrote this…it took courage to tell and I pray it touches a lot of lives that are at the turn in the road when faced with the temptation.