MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) – In the last five years, the number of Tennessee lives claimed by fentanyl has increased by 275%, according to the organization STARS Nashville.

It’s a staggering number, but it doesn’t begin to reveal the stories of those left behind.

“Even as a teenager, he would run down the stairs and give me a huge hug, and he would just be like ‘Hey mom, so good to see you,’” remembered Delaney Shelton, as she thought about her son.

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Watching old videos, if you were to ask Shelton why her son was loved by so many, the answer is clear.

However, on Tuesday, May 7, News 2 asked her how she’s been lately, and that answer is a little different.

“Uh, that’s a tough…that’s a tough question. I am living every mother’s worst nightmare,” she said.

Looking at photos of her son, Boston, you can see how he had a personality as big as the city.

“Boston. It’s hard to know where to begin with him. He was, just from a little kid he was a very strong-willed child, but very, very sensitive I would say. He loved people just really deeply,” Shelton described.

Boston had left for college, like so many teens do, but the idea of a fun and new atmosphere became a challenge, especially being away from home.

Then, the challenge Shelton could have never imagined happened.

“It…it was a tough day,” she said.

That day she’s talking about happened exactly six months ago.

“That morning, I had been calling him and calling him, over and over again, and he wasn’t responding, and I just knew that something wasn’t right, and I said, ‘I’m getting worried about you. Please let me know if you’re okay,’” Shelton remembered.

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She had been trying to get in touch with her son the night before to ensure he remembered to go to an appointment the next day. Shelton and her daughter were on the way to see Boston at school, with plans to celebrate his birthday that weekend.

Then, she received a phone call.

“His roommate had called me at that point and said, ‘I just want to let you know, we should head up this way. We found Boston and he’s not responding,’” she said, holding back tears. “Finally, the policeman called me back and just said, ‘I just wanted to let you know your son’s passed away,’ and I just remember thinking like the whole world stopped at that moment.”

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“He had some pills on his bedside; he had taken half of one and it was laced with fentanyl,” Shelton said. “In that moment, when I found out that he had passed away, all I could think was I hope he knew how much I loved him and how much he was loved by everyone.”

Now, Shelton has joined a growing group of those left behind after a loved one dies from fentanyl.

The most recent data shows nearly 2,800 Tennesseans died from fentanyl overdoses or poisoning. That accounts for more than 7 in 10 drug overdose deaths, according to STARS Nashville.

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“We had had numerous conversations about fentanyl, casual conversations,” Shelton explained. “Even when I sent him articles or I talked to him about it, I never really thought this was going to be our story.”

She now hopes others will learn more about Boston and put a name and a face to the staggering figures that continue to rise.

“I just want his story to be real to people. I want people to know he was just a normal kid, with typical teenage things going on, and that this can happen to anyone,” she said.

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