Dre Oster would have turned 21 on Halloween, but instead of planning a party and celebrating, his family had to plan a funeral and mourn his death after suffering a sudden overdose on Sept. 19.
The Cambridge man's grandmother, Sandy Stickland, describes Oster as a loving boy who was trying his hardest to get better.
"Dre wasn't perfect, but he was trying and you could really tell he was trying," she said as she clutched a photo of her late grandson. "He was a lover of music and just the kindest soul you'd meet."
Oster grew up in a dysfunctional home as his mother and father both suffered from mental illnesses. By the time he was seven, his mother had left the family and Oster was raised by his dad who Stickland describes as "mean with severe anger issues."
Living with just his father for five years took a toll on the young boy and he decided to move in with a friend from school in her Shade Street house when he was just 13 years old.
"Dre was the unfortunate person to be born to those two people and after bouncing back and forth between houses he went to live with that friend," said Stickland. "This was one of the worst decisions of his life."
Having now moved into a home that was no better than his previous one, Oster was subjected to watching people use drugs, experiencing violence and then started to show signs of mania.
At 17-years-old, Oster was kicked out of Glenview Park Secondary School and went to live with Stickland in Hanover. She was trying desperately to get him back on the right path.
Shortly after moving in with his grandmother, Oster was hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder which forced him to have mood swings and act paranoid.
"There were so many things that came with this, but we were able to get him on medication and back into school," added Stickland.
Oster was finally getting good grades in school and found a love for making music. He would write songs with lyrics about living a better life and waking up each day to find happiness.
He was a foodie who loved cheese and would never turn down something different. One of his favourite restaurants in Cambridge was a place called Umberto's which served exotic meats such as boar and alligator.
With all the moving back and forth, Oster had one constant; a few geckos that he would always bring with him. No matter how bad things got, he was always able to care for them, feed them and make sure they had what they needed to survive.
The next two years would not be easy for the young Cambridge man as he was forced off his medication and suffered manic episodes that would lead to him being kicked out of Stickland's home, his mom's home and end up back in the hospital where he almost died.
"He was only 18-years-old and he'd been through so much and I could tell he just wanted to live a normal and peaceful life," she said. "I wish I could have taken him in earlier so he could have avoided a lot of this mess."
After two years, Oster was on track to getting all of his high school credits and was diving deep into music. He was planning on recording a demo tape with his music teacher in Tillsonburg, until he had another episode that sent him spiralling back down.
"Me and his aunts decided to have a meeting with Dre to try and help him and they suggested that his friend who he lived with be there," added Stickland. "I knew it was a bad idea to have her there, but I agreed. It was the biggest mistake I've ever made."
His friend convinced him to move back in with her and her family in April 2024.
He would never return to Tillsonburg, because five months later Oster died from an overdose at his friend's Shade Street home in Cambridge.
"I'll never forget the day that it happened," said Stickland.
"I was dropping off some food for his lizards and when I pulled into the complex it was swarming with police. My heart sank, because I had a feeling of what happened."
She walked up to the police car to see what was going on and identified herself as the grandmother of someone who lived in the unit.
"The officer walked right up to me and just said, "I'm so sorry for your loss, but your grandson is dead."
Stickland, who was in shock, waited hours in her car for the coroner to bring the body outside to say goodbye to her grandson one last time.
Oster was only 20 years old when he overdosed and died last month. Stickland and her family think that no one, especially that young should have to be wheeled away in a coffin due to drugs.
From Sept. 17 to 23, there was an increase in reported overdoses/ drug poisonings, with 41 reported overdoses and three suspected drug-related deaths. Stickland believes her grandson was a part of the three deaths during this period
"Behind every death that you read about or see a number of is someone's child, brother or grandson," she said. "These are all real people with stories to tell and this crisis is devastating families."
A few months before Oster died, he told his grandmother that if anything happened to him to take care of his geckos. She kept that promise and is now looking after five little lizards in her Tillsonburg home in memory of her grandson.
