On Saturday, Sept. Suffering from an apparent heroin overdose, Cheyenne was taken to Allegiance Health and later transferred to C. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, her mother said. There, doctors pronounced Cheyenne brain-dead and gave the Highland family a choice: Take the year-old off life support or keep her alive in a vegetative state. Growing up in her grandmother's home, Cheyenne was a happy, creative child, her mother said. Cheyenne's happiness, however, diminished with her grandmother's deteriorating health, and at age 7, she experienced her first profound loss, her mother said.
In the years following her grandmother's death, Cheyenne experienced a brief stability. Her mother focused on rehab, landed a job working nights and found her own place near Mason. But when Cheyenne was 10, her mother relapsed following the death of a close friend. Highland's drug use was reported to Child Protective Services, and guardianship was forfeited to her oldest daughter, Tasha.
Although she was well cared for, the separation was tough for Cheyenne, Highland said. She was very depressed. Despite the family's effort to get Cheyenne counseling, the teen started abusing drugs as a young adult, her mother said.
She didn't really know how to talk to people, and I think the drugs gave her courage. In addition to self-esteem issues, Highland said her daughter was sensitive to a fault. She was often pained by her own past as well as by the suffering of those around her, according to Highland.
Unanswered questions. Highland learned of her daughter's overdose after she was contacted by a Jackson Police Department sergeant, who urged her to come to the station. Cheyenne had been admitted to the hospital. It didn't "look like she is going to make it. For Highland, the news was both heartbreaking and unexpected.
