TAMPA, Fla. — Mike Ortoll is a dad whose daughter Christine battled addiction for over 10 years.
And due to the incredible pain and loss his family has endured, he made a documentary sharing their story.
“Everyone knows a loved one or has a friend who's afflicted by this disease. This disease of addiction in the last 20 years has killed more Americans than the Vietnam War, than the Korean War, than WWII and WWI,” said Mike Ortoll in the documentary trailer "One Second at a Time! Battling the Monster of Addiction."
When Christine was young, her parents got divorced. Over the years, her mental well-being began to struggle, starting in middle school.
“So, she's on what anti-depressants?” asked ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan.
“Anti-depressants, anti-anxiety at first, anti-depressants. And into high school, it escalated into drug use,” said Mike.
That’s when his family’s nightmare began.
“She told her boyfriend she was going to OD on my Xanax. So, I rushed here from work and got here too late. They Baker Acted her,” explained Mike.
Once Christine graduated high school, Mike says she was so addicted she’d do anything to get drugs.
“She went to jail one time for theft to pay for drugs. And then another one, where she assaulted her boyfriend. And he called the police. So, I knew then that it was serious. So, I started sending her to really good treatment centers throughout the country,” said Mike.
But despite going through over 20 rehab centers, Christine kept relapsing.
“But what I didn't know is that she didn't deal with the trauma and that monster of that trauma. The monster of the mental health and trauma side of her disease, not the addiction side, but what caused it. I just had no idea,” said Mike.
Christine finally got sober and stayed clean for three years. During that time, Mike remarried, and at his wedding, they danced together.
“That's the moment. That's my daughter and me dancing. The father-daughter dance. That was the happiest moment of my life. She was- look, we're crying. The whole time, we cried,” explained Mike.
Mike still holds on to that memory because, not long after that, Christine relapsed again. But this time, her addiction took her down the darkest path she’d ever been.
“She went from pot to Xanax, to heroin to meth and coke, and then the most horrible one was fentanyl,” said Mike in the documentary trailer. “We were all living one second at a time with her. But that's the insanity of this disease!”
Despite all Mike did to try and save his little girl, nothing prepared him for this.
“I called him, and he goes, 'Dad, Christine passed. Christine overdosed on fentanyl,'” said Mike
He never really understood Christine’s suffering until he read her journals after she passed away in 2020.
“Her journals made me realize that we weren't just fighting the disease. We were fighting the trauma, which was the cause of the disease,” explained Mike in the documentary trailer.
Mike is now carrying on her legacy by creating a documentary and sharing her story since this is what his daughter wanted.
“She wanted the world not to define her by disease. She wanted this to help others,” explained Mike.
He continued in the documentary trailer, “I hope through Christine's story, I can help you and others battling this horrible disease. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's a tough battle that many can't survive. But there is hope in the darkness, and it's time we fight back together.”
In honor of his daughter, Mike also created a non-profit organization called Christine Ortoll Charity.
He also began a national initiative to develop recovery programs at every college in the country since students between 18 and 25 are one of the highest at-risk groups for substance abuse.
If you'd like to watch the documentary, it’s now available on several streaming platforms for a small donation here.
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