New Hampshire First Lady Valerie Sununu

Dear First Lady Valerie Sununu,
My name is Sandy MacConnell, and I am a New Hampshire Ambassador for a 50-state
campaign called the First Ladies Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall. This campaign was loosely
inspired by the DEA Faces of Fentanyl Wall put up in all 50 State Capitol buildings to honor our
loved ones as victims of this ongoing drug crisis our country is facing. Every one of our lost
sons, daughters, moms, dads, siblings, husbands, wives, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
friends were so much more than what took their lives. By displaying their faces and names in
our State Capitol, they will continue to live on in memoriam, rather than quietly becoming a
statistic without justice. The grieving and affected mothers who are driving this campaign have
accomplished so much already with a Virtual Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall for every state, but
we are not finished, and we need your help.
I personally lost my 34-year-old son, Blaise, to fentanyl poisoning on July 30, 2021, and am still
working to bring the person(s) who sold him 100% fentanyl to justice. He was seven months into
his sobriety living in Lebanon, New Hampshire, attempting to obtain sobriety once again. He
prayed on his knees every night to be given the strength to resist the overwhelming number of
dealers embedded in our society. To this day I continue to seek justice for my son who, in my
opinion, was murdered by ingesting 100% fentanyl.
When his father passed away suddenly in an accident at the age of 47, the loss was devastating
to Blaise. He was a 16-year-old young man who took the weight of the loss on his shoulders. He
felt responsible for his younger brother and I all while trying to deal with his own loss.
Unfortunately, lack of good mental health care led Blaise to seek comfort in self-medicating. It
was the only way he was able to live with his emotional pain. Yet, despite his addiction, Blaise’s
dream was to obtain a degree in counseling to help other addicts find sobriety. He was
passionate about helping others through recovery, as he knew how hard the process was and
how the evil of drug addiction could take over your life.
Blaise did not want to die! It was not his choice. It was the choice of the dealer who,
unbeknownst to my son, deceived him into buying 100% fentanyl. This dealer was never
brought to justice, despite leaving a trail of the transaction on Blaise’s Facebook Messenger
page.
My life forever changed on July 30, 2021. I wholeheartedly believe that a memorial wall with the
names and faces of those lost to drugs in New Hampshire is a meaningful and compelling way
to not only keep Blaise’s name a relevant part of the fentanyl conversation, but to keep all those
who were taken without a choice a voice as well. You find the wall and we will do the rest.
A grieving, but hopeful mother,
Sandy MacConnell
Blaise MacConnell’s mom, forever 34
Manchester, NH