S3 E11 Never Lose Hope with Tennille HeitkampS3 E11 Never Lose Hope with Tennille Heitkamp
Pondoff's Anonymous
Mum Tennille Heitkamp shares her long, painful and hopeful experience walking through her son Jacob’s fentanyl addiction, from childhood struggles to multiple treatments and near-death moments. Chris and Jeff talk with her about family impact, boundaries, support communities and early prevention for other parents in similar situations.
1:54:57•6 Apr 2026
Never Lose Hope: A Mother’s Fight Through Her Son’s Fentanyl Addiction
Episode Overview
- Addiction affects the entire family, not just the person using, so parents and loved ones need their own support and education.
- Trying different meetings, groups and communities is crucial; if one approach doesn’t fit, keep looking rather than giving up.
- Hospitals and treatment centres may provide only basic guidance, so families often need to seek extra information and advocacy themselves.
- Clear boundaries (around housing, money and cars) can be painful to hold, but they create safer conditions for genuine recovery.
- Early prevention work with parents – spotting warning signs and learning how to talk to kids – can start long before substances appear.
“For moms out there that are in it with their kids, to never lose hope I think is probably the conclusion. That’s all you can have.”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? Pondoff’s Anonymous brings in Tennille Heitkamp, a mum who’s been through years of chaos with her son Jacob’s addiction, to share what it really looks like when a whole family gets pulled into fentanyl, pills, relapses, and endless treatment rounds.
You’ll hear Tennille talk about Jacob’s early years with ADHD, learning difficulties, and feeling like an outsider, and how that hunger to fit in led from school football changing rooms to ecstasy, pills, and eventually fentanyl. She lays out the hospital runs, detox stays, sober living, car crashes, overdoses, arrests, and the way hope kept getting stretched but never quite snapped.
As she says, “for moms out there that are in it with their kids, to never lose hope… that’s all you can have.” The conversation doesn’t just stick to Jacob’s story. Chris, Jeff and Tennille talk frankly about how addiction turns into a family illness: secret-keeping from partners, sleepless nights, checking location apps, and trying to parent an adult without losing your mind.
They also highlight how vital it is for families to get help too, through groups, education, and community – not just reacting in crisis and trusting that one discharge leaflet will fix things. There’s also a powerful segment on early prevention. Tennille shares her work with Addiction Is Real, where parents walk through a mocked-up teen bedroom to spot red flags, learn about things like alcohol vapes and hidden paraphernalia, and get practical language for age-appropriate talks with their kids.
The tone swings between dark humour, raw honesty, and gentle encouragement, making it especially helpful for parents and loved ones who feel like they’re the only ones going through this. It’s messy, human, and full of the message in the episode title: never lose hope. If you’re supporting someone in addiction, how are you looking after yourself and staying connected to hope?
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