WARNING: Some people may find the image in this story upsetting.
SULLIVAN, Mo. — Jannetta Johnson remembers her daughter Mackenzie Naylor for her eyes, her outgoing personality and her passion for art.
“She had the most beautiful, sparkling eyes,” Johnson said.
Naylor started experimenting with prescription drugs, including Adderall, in junior high.
“She had abandonment issues,” Johnson said. “Her dad had left when she was two. She struggled with that.”
Last year, a new boyfriend introduced Naylor to heroin.
“Once she became an addict, it took a hold of her and she couldn't get away from it,” Johnson said.
Johnson took Naylor to rehab after an overdose. She got clean but relapsed. On December 22, Johnson got a call from the hospital.
“The phone call that all parents dread. They said my daughter was in the ICU,” she said.
Naylor died the day after Christmas. She was 20.
Johnson said she held her daughter, as she died.
“I placed her head on my heart so she could hear my heartbeat because I know my heartbeat was the first thing she heard when she was growing in my body,” Johnson said.
At the funeral, Johnson took photos of her daughter in the casket. She decided to share them on social media this week, and she wants parents to take a hard look.
“I was not afraid it was going to offend anyone,” she said. “We need to be offended how far this epidemic has gotten, how it has taken our children away from us.”
Johnson said she wants to inspire parents to be aware of drug use and ask tough questions. She does not want her daughter's death to be in vain.
“Every day I wake up, it's a whole thing to remember that she's still gone,” she said.
This story of Mackenzie Naylor is not isolated, and sadly can even be connected to thousands of other victims, sometimes just weeks old.
Thursday night, you will get a chance to meet Grayson. He’s only a few weeks old and was hooked on heroin. He’s among a rising number of babies born addicted to drugs.
Here in St. Louis doctors say the number of babies born into addiction has nearly doubled. What can be done to help the littlest victims of the opioid crisis.
Tonight at 10. Only on Five On Your Side.