Gang Edwards’s wife, Julie, a retired medical device rep, said she was appalled to learn their son’s death was caused by a toxic substance. “We still had no idea how this could have happened,” she said.

“I just want to sit with my kids and my grandkids. It’s not OK,” said Mary Ellen Edwards, his mother’s sister. Her brother, Anthony, 22, said it was sad to hear that his brother suffered what could have been avoided. “It’s just so sad,” Anthony Edwards said.

The Edwards family has set up a GoFundMe page for the Edwardses.

“If a mother or father is dying of drug overdoses, why wouldn’t we take them to a clinic?” Cade Edwards asked. “Let’s put them in a hospital, let’s try to get their lives stabilized. But my son wasn’t dying. He was in a coma when he got to the hospital.”

“It sounds as if they may have used a lot of different substance in that house,” he said. “If they found heroin, they should have turned someone in. I mean, why the hell didn’t a family member find this out sooner? We would have had our son back and we could’ve said ‘Hey, you know what, we want a doctor here that understands what’s going on here’. This is America and we’re supposed to have healthcare for people, and if you have a loved one dying in a house and not being connected to a medical professional, you don’t turn the other cheek.”

Cade said the Edwards’ had learned since the incident how easy it is to have friends and family members take drugs. “You can’t keep bringing it up,” he said. “I just wish they would do whatever with it.”

The family is seeking financial help to cover funeral expenses and to help cover the hospital costs of Anthony Edwards, who can be called by phone at 714-333-1171.