SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — More than 110,000 people lost their lives to an overdose last year according to the CDC. A majority of those deaths involved fentanyl. One of those people was a teenage girl from Vermillion.
“She would light up a room if she walked through the door,” Kelcy Orr’s dad, Jim Orr said.
15-year-old Kelcy Orr loved gymnastics, track, and spending time with her friends.
“Everybody would just start laughing and smiling. She had that contagious laugh, really outgoing, very smart, just an amazing person,” Jim said.
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But last December, Jim and Jenny Orr lost their daughter to fentanyl poisoning.
“Our daughter did not go to sleep that night not knowing that she was not going to wake up the next morning. She was killed by taking a pill that was laced with fentanyl,” Kelcy’s mom, Jenny Orr said.
While nothing can stop the pain of losing a child, the Orrs are now a part of the Emily’s Hope support group , which has been therapeutic for them. They’re helping raise awareness, in hopes of saving lives.