A MUM is celebrating three years of sobriety after a shocking picture of her overdosing on heroin next to her baby son went viral.
Erika Hurt, 26, was arrested when cops discovered her slumped behind the wheel of her car with her ten-month-old boy in the back.
She had passed out with a syringe still in her hand in the town of Hope, Indiana.
But three years later, Erika is now clean of heroin – and focused on being a mum to little Parker.
Erika, who was revived with Narcan, posted her image and update on Facebook page The Addict’s Diary.
She wrote: “Millions saw me overdose after a photo taken of me by a police officer went viral.
“None of those people have seemed to have time to reach out and check on me, so here is an update:
“Today I celebrated three years clean and my son gets to have his mommy back. How about you make THAT go viral! #TheAddictsDiary.”
The post racked-up more than 126,000 reactions and was shared 95,000 times.
Erika, who started using heroin at 15, also celebrated her sober anniversary on her own Facebook page:
She posted: “Three years ago I was receiving Narcan to bring me back to life after I had overdosed on heroin; all while my son, my mom and her wife stood and watched.
“While those are such emotional moments for my family to recall, that’s really not what is MOST important today. What is really important today, is the fact that Narcan saved my life!
“Narcan kept me alive until I wanted to live! While I can admit that my son was unfortunately NOT enough to keep me sober then, he is my motivation today.”
I can admit that my son was unfortunately not enough to keep me sober then, he is my motivation today
Erika Hurt
Posting two years ago, Erika said of her overdosing picture: “It was the absolute worst moment of my life.
“Last year, I overdosed with heroin in my car at a parking lot with my precious baby boy inside the car with me.
“I decided to repost the picture simply because it displays exactly what heroin addiction is.
“Also because I do not want to ever forget where the road of addiction has taken me.
“Little did I know that day, my life was about to change, drastically.
“Today, I am able to focus on the good that came from that picture.
“The picture is a reminder of where my addiction will always lead me.
“Being away from my son for eight months, missing his first birthday, Halloween, thanksgiving, Easter, missing his first time crawling, his first steps, and his first words – that’s what made me get and say sober.”
Erika was charged with child neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia after she was rushed to hospital.
She pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent and was given a two-year suspended sentence.
Her mum was given temporary custody of her young son while Erika recovered.
