A photo of Tom Tvedten just days before his death due to an overdose of prescription pain medication. Tom struggled with addiction a good portion of his adult life.

It is a pandemic of epic proportions across the globe. It affects all people at one time or another. It does not discriminate when it infects a person. And this pandemic is being aided by doctors and hospitals. The effects of this pandemic can be lethal, and it is prevalent in Faribault County.

The name of this pandemic? Addiction.

Tamy Tvedten knows this truth all too well, as her son, Tom Tvedten, passed away from a prescription drug overdose last April. Tom Tvedten was just 30 years old.

Now Tamy Tvedten is fighting against this pandemic by spreading her story about Tom’s fight with addiction.

Tvedten will be the guest speaker at the ATCW?Auxiliary Pancake Breakfast and silent auction on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 11:30 a.m. at the Winnebago Municipal Center. The pancake breakfast is set to begin at 9 a.m.

Tom on the left holding his baby brother Zach while older brother Rob smiles for the camera.

Tamy and her husband Wayne both grew up in Elmore and graduated from Elmore High School. They are lifetime residents of Faribault County and all three of their sons, Rob, Tom, and Zach went to school at Blue Earth Area?Schools.

Tom was the middle child and battled addiction for the majority of his adult life.

“Tom was hurt badly at work one day and was put on pain pills. The doctors prescribed him those pain pills as long as Tom said he was in pain,” says Tvedten. “And there came a point where he told me someone he worked with offered him some pain pills that worked so much better, and I knew it was just the beginning of my concerns for my son.”

Tvedten worked in the medical field for many years, and saw what addiction could do to a person. She said doctors started her son on the well-known opioid known as OxyContin. From there, it was an uphill battle.

“The first time he went through treatment, after we had an intervention with him, he went back to pain pills almost immediately,” says Tvedten. “If he didn’t get them from his own doctor, he knew the people he could purchase them from who had prescriptions for them.”

Tom, in the middle, at his last Christmas before his death. His brothers Rob, left) and Zach, right, accompany him at the family Christmas tree.

Tvedten is not shy about admitting her son’s addiction started here in Faribault County. Whether they are prescription drugs or street drugs, Tvedten says her son was open and honest about where he was getting his fixes.

“It was far too easy for him to get his drug of choice, which were prescription pain pills. That was very evident during his last three months of life,” say Tvedten.

Her son eventually moved to St. Paul where he worked diligently on controlling his addiction. Tom found a routine which worked for him which included a healthy diet as well as exercise and someone to talk to, his life coach. But Tvedten admits her son relapsed more than once.

“We are not teaching our addicts life changes. Far too often, we are finding our family members are relapsing because our medical systems are trying to compensate one drug for another,” says Tvedten. “When someone is addicted to meth, they get put on methadone. That’s just as addicting as meth. Same with any member of the opioid family. They are prescribed drugs, so addicts have legal access to them.”

This is why Tvedten chooses to be so vocal about her son’s death and his addiction. She knew immediately after Tom’s death she had work to do: she had to show her community and so many others that addiction can take anyone by storm. Whether it is a lawyer or a football player on a high school football team, a woman, a man, poor, or rich anyone can be an addict and those lines between an addict and a non-addict are blurred by prescription drugs.

“I called him a legal drug addict,” says Tvedten. “He was on so many prescriptions, but every time he was tested, they said he was on ‘therapeutic levels’ of each drug. He was even being given drugs while he was in treatment centers. That was my eye-opener. It takes a village to raise a child, and it will take a nation to address this pandemic. That’s why this is a pandemic because the solutions we have aren’t working.”

Tvedten is adamant about talking to students about addiction, and urges families they talk to their sons and daughters about drugs as soon as possible.

“We have many parents who are addicts themselves, but refuse to acknowledge the true problem, and habits begin to form in students, and before you know it, we have another addict in our neighborhood. Awareness is necessary. Never thinking it will happen to you is a naive way of thinking,” she says.

So, she took action.

“Tom was brilliant. He was kind and loving and would do anything for anybody,” says Tvedten. “He is not what people assumed. There is no stereotype to an addict they’re not homeless and raggedy. It happens to good people. We are all good people. No matter who that addict is, there is someone who loves them.”

Tvedten’s advice to members of the public who may know someone who is an addict, or is an addict themselves is to know they are not alone.

“Anyone I have met, I have met someone who is struggling or knows someone who is struggling. I now have a tattoo of my son’s handwriting on me. I wear an overdose awareness bracelet on me at all times. It opens the conversation and I will wear my son’s story on my sleeve and talk to anybody willing to listen,” says Tvedten.

Her other advice? Don’t judge an addict.

“Learn how to love them without enabling them. Have tough love. Realize and understand you can’t fix it alone, even if you’re a mom. You have to work together to help them through the recovery process,” says Tvedten. “Have a loving and compassionate heart. We cannot be heartless. The stigma of judgement around our area can sometimes prevent people from getting help because they know they will be judged. We need to remove our own stigmas so our loved ones can approach people they trust to get them help because an addict will never ask for it. We need to create safe, confidential spaces in our community to help save lives.”

To hear Tamy and Tom’s full story, attend the ATCW?Auxiliary Pancake Breakfast and silent auction.