Hi everyone.  And thank you so much for being here.  I am here as a parent, just like many of you. I am here today with my son Lucas. For those of you who may not know our story, Lucas died from an accidental overdose September 30, 2019, at just 16 years old, after taking a street-sold Percocet pill laced with fentanyl. 

If Lucas was here alive, he would make us laugh. He might slide from the chair, making an epic fall, or pretend he fell asleep during my talk, just to make you laugh. Lucas was 6.2 feet tall and waited around 200 lb. He liked to plunge into my lap making it look like an Elf episode, which of course would give us another happy moment of laughter. He loved to call me different names like mom, mommy, mama, mother, Olga Davidov and he would wink at me. He had a playful nature.  Lucas had enormous appetite, for food and for life and huge compassion for people around him. No matter how many times my husband asked how to adjust the light on his phone or find pictures on it, Lucas would help his dad like it was the first time, with no annoyance or irritation, but with willingness to do something good. Lucas was a giver. He loved bring gifts to his elementary school teachers, even after he went to middle school. He asked his dad to buy snickers for his friend who was not able to afford it. And he would give his friends and his family very precious and thoughtful gifts. 

We are all here tonight because we are invested in the safety of the youth in our community.  If you are a parent, you know already that all parents love their children, unconditionally. Our love brings with it the hope that we can protect them and keep them safe. And just like all of you, I wanted to do all I could to keep Lucas safe and prevent drug use. 

It has been said that keeping kids busy is a key to prevention. Lucas was busy. He was constantly challenged: academically, physically, spiritually. Lucas was taking all advanced level classes, playing competitive sports competitive, was engaged in church, played music in his free time, had a circle of friends, and stayed connected with family. Regular conversations at the dinner table demonstrated that he was mature in his thinking and understood very well what healthy choices are. 

It was at the start of high school that we first noticed changes in Lucas. We recognized much of it as normal in adolescence. Freshman year, Lucas changed sports and had a new circle of friends. I felt unsure, but accepted it as something he might enjoy better. Lucas moved to more distant room in our house. Again, I had bad feelings about it, but accepted it, as Lucas explained that it would make him more independent and prepare him for life as a Navy Seal. Lucas started having sleepovers at our house. I had mixed feelings about it, but was delighted to get to know Lucas’s friends, seeing them together, having laughs and conversations. Lucas started doing his own laundry – every mother’s dream, right? Looking back I wonder if he might have been hiding something from me. Around 6 months prior to Lucas’s death, I smelled marijuana in his room.   

• My first reaction was anger. I scolded him for not thinking and made him promise to stop.  
• We started testing him using a standard 12 panel test. 
• We grounded him for 2 weeks or until next test is clear and banned sleepovers 
• Lucas had to research the effects of marijuana on young brain and share the findings with us 
• We stocked up on marijuana tests and set expectations that he would be tested periodically and randomly without any reason, just for our peace of mind 
• I called Lucas’s friend’s parents to discuss 
• I reached out to professionals online and by phone, but then got confused about what stage I am now: since Lucas promised to stop and I thought maybe I don’t need to do anything but observe him; so, I decided to monitor 
• Lucas started dating. I was happy for him and felt good about their relationship. However, Lucas now hardly had any time now to spend with family, which made it harder to observe him. 

Lucas started complaining about constipation. We visited primary doctor and were advised that too much fast food might be the cause and improvements to his diet should fix that issue. Lucas had stomach aches and after throwing up would feel better. I thought it was just poor diet, which was aligned with constipation, and did not link in any way to potential drug use. Lucas started having back pain. Spine doctor did extensive diagnosis on him including MRI and determine herniated disk as a root cause. While it was legitimate diagnosis, I will never know if that was the only cause of that pain. Lucas never again showed positive on marijuana tests, including those times when I observed his test, suspecting that something is not right.  I did worry, was he using something else than marijuana? The thought of heroine made me sweat. I checked his arms and legs for track marks and found no evidence. Still I had him watch a heroine related video. Unfortunately, worrying for pills did not come across me, as I was not aware neither of pills nor of fentanyl. I shared my concern about marijuana use with other people whenever I could. We would agree that there is a concern. And that majority of kids will try and quit, but few will not. And we would hope and pray that our kids would not be those few. The evening before Lucas’s death, my husband and I came home after dinner and found Lucas not at home. He said he went to the supermarket, but as we know now, he was asked by his friend to buy pill for him and get half as a pay.  Lucas took his half that night before going to sleep. I did everything I knew how to, prevent drug misuse. And that is why I am here, now. To compel others to know how to help their children in a way that perhaps could have saved my Lucas.  

If I could go back in time, even before Lucas reached an age where he might be at risk of experimenting, I would: 

• Be at all sport events, social gatherings, school events as much as possible, just like it was at elementary school, finding any opportunity to volunteer and be closer to my child, to my child friends and their parents. 
• Talk to Lucas earlier and more often about the dangers of drugs, consequences, how to say no 
• Set limits on electronics and apps like Snapchat and Venmo, which are often used to communicate with and pay dealers.  
• Be more familiar with what drug paraphernalia looks like and the signs of use  
• Check his clothes, belongings, room furnishings, backpacks for anything unusual, drug paraphernalia – even before anything unusual is noticed. 
• Trust my instincts, even if others might find nothing wrong with random observations. 
• Be aware that testing is not absolute. Kids have ways of getting around the tests and fentanyl is not part of the standard test, but now is included in 14 panel drug test or sold separately as single panel fentanyl strip. 
• Rely on professional help as even abnormal things might seem very normal when looked at different perspective and when they are intermixed with tons of good things.  
• Be prepared to respond in a healthy and appropriate way.  

When faced with drug use by our children, we might feel angry, disappointed, betrayed, disrespected, confused, lost and ashamed. And we might not want to share with anyone and decide to fix it by yourselves. All that is normal response. But, since it is not about us, but foremost about the future and safety of our children, our children probably would need foremost to know that they are understood, not judged, and loved just for who they are. Perhaps, no matter what we discover, we can try to come alongside our child and show that we are calm and loving and possibly say something like: Thank you for sharing it with me. Life of a teenager is very difficult these days. I cannot imagine what you might be going through. I want you to know that I love you and I will always be here for you. Please tell me everything from the beginning. …You might end the conversation like: Why don’t we call our primary doctor and get some professional help?  Or why don’t we call a free WA recovery help line and get some professional help?  

 I hope that at least one person today will find a deeper understanding, a new perspective, and will do just a little bit more, or just a little bit different, to save someone’s life. And that if you need help, you will reach out to Influence the Choice or Earlybird Alliance, which was founded in Lucas’s memory. Thank you. 

Lucas was born Monday April 14 2003 in Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York.  When Lucas was 3 months old, we, Lucas’s parents, moved to WA state looking for new job opportunities and good place to raise kids. We loved WA state because of its cooler summers, astonishing nature, beautiful homes, growing economy and of course most wonderful people we have ever met. We spent first few month living in Bellevue and by September 2003 we moved to our first and current house in Glenwood of Sammamish. Right away Lucas started LaPetite Academy on 228th street of Sammamish. He was less than 6-month-old and cried every day in the beginning. But, soon after, Lucas got used to the place and really loved his teachers and his friends. In 2005 Lucas and his older brother Nicola spend summer in Ukraine, developing lifelong bond with grandparents, aunt, cousin and Ukrainian culture. In 2008 Lucas went to Sunny Hills Elementary. Along with other after school activities, Lucas played basketball, soccer and was accepted to be in math competition team. In 2014 Lucas went to Pine Lake Middle School. He played clarinet in school band and went to Disneyland to perform with school group. Lucas really loved Pine Lake wrestling. In the summer Lucas really enjoyed trip to WA DC, organized by school district. Lucas swam on Issaquah Swim Team all through the year and for Klahanie Sharks team during summer. In 2017 Lucas started Skyline High School. He started driving a car and was excited to be independent. He played football as a lineman on Skyline football team. Since Lucas turned 15, he kept part time job as swim instructor at Issaquah Boehm Pool.  

Lucas was very social, very easy to get along with. Lucas could easily approach someone he does not know and start a conversation. Lucas was never shy on compliments. When Lucas was 6-year-old, he told my sister that she is the smartest person in the world. Lucas was the one who would always notice when I change my makeup, hair, perfume or clothes. Lucas had unique love for little kids and elderly people. He loved playing with his friend’s younger siblings and helped them with homework.  Lucas stayed connected with friends’ grandparents sharing conversations, playing chess online and exchanging music books. Lucas was deeply engaged in the church. He played guitar with church band. He would not miss any volunteering events, retreats and mission trips. Lucas deeply loved animals. He cared for a cat abandoned by someone. Lucas cared for his lizard. Lucas set friends’ dogs while they were on vacations. Lucas loved music, especially old one. Lucas loved cooking. He moved from making cookies to cooking pizza from scratch, pasta and anything else from Italian cuisine. Besides of everything else, Lucas loved to make people laugh. He would always come out with the joke. When he was little, he was always making funny faces, sounds, poses, etc. He was very entertaining to watch and to be with. Lucas was the one who was fixing stuff. He would fix computers, electronics, printers, phones, etc. Lucas loved shopping. He could find incredible stuff at garage sales and rare things at thrift shops and give them new life. Lucas loved fashion.  He bought sewing machine and was altering clothes to his own style. He bought old record player and vinyl disks and was playing it during Christmas or other occasions. 

During his sophomore year, we caught Lucas smoking marihuana. We requested him to stop and told him that he will be tested to ensure he stays clean. He stopped. Everything was good.  During summer Lucas got herniated disk and was deprived from any sport or even exercise. Lucas spend all his time studying for SAT. At that time Lucas started losing interests in any family activity and wanted to spend lots of time with his friends. We thought of it as normal for a teen. Sometimes Lucas had stomach aches and would throw up. We thought it was him not eating homemade food and feeding on fast-foods. But we did not know that those were signs of Lucas continuing experimenting with drugs. Lucas started his Junior High School year, completed his first assignment, went on Home coming dance and came back home earlier than he planned and very irritable. I intended to talk to him about his behavior next day to give us time to reflect. Next day turned out to be a peaceful day. He spent all day with his girlfriend going for birthday celebration and spending time at home. I was glad that things were settling down and postponed my conversation for next day. The next day, conversation did not happen, as in the morning on Monday September 30 Lucas was found dead in his room, poisoned by fentanyl laced street sold Percocet pill. Only after his death, we found out that Lucas was buying Percocet pills and got the last one laced with fentanyl. We wish we knew drug signs early and could help poor Lucas. 

What we will miss in Lucas are his easy-going manner, talks, discussions, thoughtfulness, peacefulness; playful nature, smiles, hugs, winks; energy, enthusiasm, excitement engaging in something new. We miss Lucas every day. Lucas’s life was full of potential. He would have been great citizen, good dad, loving husband. All that and much more was taken away from him. We, Lucas’s parents, learnt from our mistakes and regret that we were not prepared for challenges of dealing with drugs. 

We do not want any parent to lose a child. In memory of Lucas, we want to spread awareness of dangers of drugs.  We encourage parents to share stories and learn from each other. We are hopeful that with knowledge we will reduce underage drug use and save lives of our children