On October 9, 2023, I spoke to my son for the last time. The last laugh. The last “I love

you.” The last time I would ever hear him say, “Hiii Mooom.”

On October 10, 2023, my world changed forever. Donald G. Sterns Jr., forever 25, was

found unresponsive in his room. By the time I arrived, the words that no mother should

ever hear were spoken to me: “Rhonda, he’s gone.”

The trauma and heart-numbing pain that followed is something I would never wish on

anyone. Later, I learned from the medical examiner that Donald passed away from a

counterfeit pill containing fentanyl, a tragedy that is taking far too many lives.

After years of GriefShare counseling, both group and individual, I have learned that

healing does not mean the pain disappears. Sometimes it feels heavier. I miss his smile

every single day. I miss singing to him and hearing his laughter as he would say, “Hiii

Mooom.” I carry the reality that I will never again hug him, talk to him, or hear his voice

on this side of heaven.

But out of that heartbreak, and through a battle with depression, I am choosing to

search for purpose within my pain.

That is how Donny’s Light Project was born.

This project is my commitment to turn grief into action, awareness into education, and

love into service. It exists to shine light on the dangers of fentanyl, to support our

community, and to remind others that compassion and connection matter.

As Donny wrote in the last birthday card he gave me in September 2023:

“Don’t be scared to try new things and go hard.”

I am trying. For him.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for honoring his light. 

 
Donald G. Sterns Jr.
September 11, 1998 - October 10, 2023