Ohio woman whose husband died of a overdose smiles for photo by his casket

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Mike Settles, 26, died of a heroin overdose in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 2
His wife, Eva Holland, posted a photo to Facebook and Instagram with the couple's two children, Lucas and Ava, by her husband's open casket
'You may think it will never happen to you but guess what that's what Mike thought too,' she wrote with the photo
Holland said husband turned to heroin after getting hooked on pain pills
He had been clean since leaving rehab at Christmas but recently relapsed
The post quickly went viral and has been shared 250,000 times

Published: 11:32 EST, 14 September 2015 | Updated: 00:42 EST, 15 September 2015

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An Ohio woman whose husband died of a heroin overdose has shared a photo with her children by his open casket to highlight what she says was a preventable death.

Eva Holland said her husband, Mike Settles, 26, died on September 2 after a recent relapse in Cincinnati. The father-of-two had been released from rehab 'a new man' around Christmas, having sought treatment for the heroin addiction he developed after becoming hooked on pain medication.

Following Settles' funeral last week, Holland made the unconventional move of posing for a photo with her smiling children, Lucas and Ava, by her husband's coffin and then posting the picture to her Facebook and Instagram with a lengthy explanation.

'I'm sure this photo makes a lot of people uncomfortable it may even p--s a few people off but the main reason I took it was to show the reality of addiction,' she wrote in the photo caption.

'This is saving lives': Eva Holland poses with her children, Lucas and Ava, before the casket of her husband, Mike Settles, 26, who died of a recent heroin overdose. Holland said she posted this picture to her Facebook and Instagram to highlight the 'cold hard truth that heroin kills'

Torn apart: Holland explained that her husband turned to heroin after becoming addicted to pain pills. He left rehab just before Christmas and remained clean until relapsing after 'a single pill' he took for a toothache

Holland, who had been with Settles for 11 years, continued in the post: 'If you don't choose recovery every single day this will be your only way out.

'No parent should have to bury their child and no child as young as ours should have to bury their parent.

'This was preventable it didn't have to happen but one wrong choice destroyed his family.

'I know a lot of people may be upset I'm putting it out in the open like this, but hiding the facts is only going to keep this epidemic going.

'The cold hard truth is heroin kills.

'You may think it will never happen to you but guess what that's what Mike thought too.'

The post: This Facebook status quickly went viral at the weekend and has been shared almost 250,000 times

Eva Holland and Mike Settles had been with each other for 11 years, since Settles was 15-years-old. They had two children together, son Lucas and daughter Ava

Mike Settles died on September 2, aged 26, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was said to have remained clean since leaving rehab just before Christmas, but recently relapsed

Holland explained that her spouse fell into into drugs long after they first got together when they were teenagers.

'We were together 11 years. I was there before it all started,' she wrote.

'I knew what he wanted out of this life, all his hopes and dreams.

'He never would've imagined his life would turn out this way. He was once so happy and full of life.

'He was a great son, brother, friend but most importantly, he was a great dad.

'He loved those kids more than anything. But as we all know sometimes life gets tough and we make some wrong choices.

'His addiction started off with pain pills then inevitably heroin.

'He loved us all so much he decided enough was enough and went to rehab at the end of last year.

'Sober is the best look': Settles documented some of his struggles with drugs on his own Facebook page. In this post above, from April, he declares himself sober and shared a healthy-looking photo

Transformation: In May, Settles posted this before-and-after picture - with the left presumably from his time as an addict - declaring himself 'healthy'

Reunited: Judging by this post, also from May, Settles and Holland broke up earlier this year, but then got back together after deciding 'to be a family again'

'He got out right before Christmas as a brand new man. He had found his purpose for living again, he found his gorgeous smile again, he became the man, the son, the brother, the dad that we all needed him to be again.'

Holland said her husband fell off the wagon after being prescribed some medication for a dental issue.

'He did so good for so long but then a couple months ago it started with a single pill for a 'toothache' which inevitably led him back down the road of addiction instead of staying (on) the course of recovery.

'He said he could handle it, that he could stop on his own and didn't need to get help again.

'Well, he was wrong. Last Wednesday he took his last breath. My kids' father, the man I loved since I was a kid, a great son and a great person lost his battle.

'I just needed to share his story in case it can help anyone else.'

Mike and Eva Holland were together 11 years and had two children together, Lucas and Ava

Eva Holland said she decided to share her husband's story in the hope of helping others

Settles used his own Facebook page to document his struggle with drugs.

In April, about four months after leaving rehab, he posted a photo of himself with the caption: 'Sober is the best look.'

Then in May he posted two photos of himself, one presumably from his days as an addict, and the other of himself at the time, with the caption: '#transformation #healthy'

In a separate post from the same month, Settles suggested that he and Holland had broken up but then decided to get back together and 'be a family again'.

Settles had listed his job as working for General Electric Aviation in Evendale, Ohio.

A search also showed Settles had a checkered history of run-ins with the law, including charges of domestic violence, disorderly conduct and soliciting, between 2010 and May 2014.

'Talking about the problem is truly helping': Holland shared this message at the weekend about a woman she helped with her post about her late husband

Dad: Mike Settles leaves behind his two children, Ava (left) and Lucas (right) and his wife Eva Holland

Family: Settles and Holland had been together for 11 years and had two children together, Lucas and Ava

Holland posted the confronting photo from Settles' funeral to some recovery sites in the hopes of helping people in a similar situation to her husband.

The original Facebook post went up on Thursday, and just a few days later Holland wrote a follow-up post about an addict that credited her with not overdosing.

'This lady ran up to me crying and asked if she could hug me,' the weekend post said.

'I thought she was just having a bad day so I hugged her.

'She said ''I am a heroin addicted (sic) and was going to try and overdose last night but then I see you post and you saved my life. I can never thank you enough!''

'So we stood there hugging each other crying.

'This right here is what it's all about.'

Mother-of-two Eva Holland said her husband Mike died after a recent relapse. The father-of-two had been released from rehab around Christmas, having resorted to heroine after becoming addicted to pain medication

In earlier post on Facebook, posted September 4, Holland laments the questions she was being asked about the death of her husband

The Facebook post with the casket photo has been shared on Facebook almost 250,000 times and has received around 100 comments.

The comments are overwhelmingly positive.

'I am a addict too your story breaks my heart it took so much courage to do this i'm so sorry for your loss but it makes me sure I want to keep my recovery may God be with you,' Tammy McLeod Ivey wrote.

Another person, Sherry Kincaid, wrote: 'She's a Blessing from God. A Messenger for those in despair. To save the lives of all that we care about. Praise you Eva Holland'

Torn apart: Holland explained that her husband turned to heroin after becoming addicted to pain pills. He left rehab just before Christmas and remained clean until relapsing on 'a single pill' he took for a toothache