As much as anyone in Arizona, 40-year-old Rachel Combs has suffered the cruelty of America’s opioid crisis.
Tragedy first struck the Kingman resident’s family in 2013, when her brother died of a drug overdose at 25 years old. She said her mother, Renee Brunhofer, battled chronic pain and fibromyalgia and started using medication heavily when a doctor prescribed “two different prescription strengths of OxyContin at the same time, as well as fentanyl patches.” When doctors eventually cut her off from the meds, Brunhofer later turned to street drugs.
One day in August 2024, Combs tried calling her mom several times without getting an answer. Her mom’s husband, John Brunhofer, eventually picked up…