TPiH 064 Brandy Sheahan Harris

This one is going to hurt. In this episode of That Podcast in Hutch, my friend Brandy Sheahan Harris talks about the loss of her son, Sebastian, to a fentanyl overdose. Sebastian passed away on April 15, 2022. He was 21 years old. Brandy tells us about her son, moving us through his young life and lets us see, through a mother’s eyes, Sebastian’s life. She also walks us through his struggles with addiction, and the hole his death has left in her family’s lives. I’ve known Brandy for a number of years. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child.  Yet she has shown an incredible amount of resolve and courage in the years since Sebastian’s death. Anytime I’ve asked Brandy to travel to Topeka to testify on legislation related to fentanyl deaths, she has helped without hesitation. She testified in front of Senate and House Committees and did numerous television interviews - all things that I know were far outside of her comfort zone. I spent nearly 3 years talking with other legislators about the need to decriminalize fentanyl testing strips. It finally happened in 2023 and I was proud to lead that effort in the legislature. But it wouldn’t have happened without people like Brandy - who had the courage to speak through their loss. In 2024, we followed that by passing a Good Samaritan law, which allows people to call for medical aid during an overdose without fear of arrest or prosecution. This one is going to hurt. But I think it’s important to hear it.