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Portsmouth, Ohio -- Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Layla Kegg stands outside of the home she lived in when her mother started using painkillers while working as a hospice nurse. The home, which was recently sold, is next door to where she now lives with her grandmother.

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Layla Kegg, 17, lives with her grandmother and great-grandfather in Portsmouth, a southern Ohio town with elevated opioid addiction rates. “Every time I come home, I ask, ‘where’s mom?’” she said. Her mother, Nikki Horr, became addicted to painkillers while working as a hospice nurse. She had recently renewed contact with an abusive boyfriend and the family didn't know where she was staying.

A junior at Portsmouth High School, Kegg is navigating teenage life with normal concerns like good grades, the next softball game and her upcoming prom, but as her mom continues to fight back from addiction, Kegg also worries that her mother could overdose like so many others have in her hometown.

CREDIT: Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times
30231966A

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Portsmouth, Ohio -- Tuesday, March 26, 2019<br /> <br /> Layla Kegg stands outside of the home she lived in when her mother started using painkillers while working as a hospice nurse. The home, which was recently sold, is next door to where she now lives with her grandmother. <br /> <br /> --<br /> <br /> Layla Kegg, 17, lives with her grandmother and great-grandfather in Portsmouth, a southern Ohio town with elevated opioid addiction rates. “Every time I come home, I ask, ‘where’s mom?’” she said. Her mother, Nikki Horr, became addicted to painkillers while working as a hospice nurse. She had recently renewed contact with an abusive boyfriend and the family didn't know where she was staying.<br /> <br /> A junior at Portsmouth High School, Kegg is navigating teenage life with normal concerns like good grades, the next softball game and her upcoming prom, but as her mom continues to fight back from addiction, Kegg also worries that her mother could overdose like so many others have in her hometown.<br /> <br /> CREDIT: Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times <br /> 30231966A
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