Chrissy Erbe was a Panther Valley graduate who loved tie-dye and helped people with addiction issues.

She also battled her own addiction, and tragically lost that battle on Jan. 15 of this year.But her family members don’t want the way she died to overshadow the joy that Erbe brought them in her 21 years of life.“She died because of a moment of weakness,” Rusnock said. “But people will remember the things she did, the loving person she was. She really was loved a lot.”Rusnock and Erbe's mother, Tamarra Rusnock-Kline, are planning to remember her Wednesday night — International Overdose Awareness Day — with a balloon release at the Coaldale Complex, the former Coaldale High School. The memorial will begin at 6:30 p.m. They’ve invited Erbe’s friends and classmates to help remember the girl with the big eyes whose life was cut short at such a young age.The event will feature a speaker from the Carbon-Monroe Pike Drug and Alcohol Coalition.They’ll also be selling tie-dye wristbands and t-shirts to remember Chrissy, with the proceeds going directly to the coalition.Rusnock recalled how in the months after Erbe died, they learned just how many people shared their grief. Hundreds showed up at her viewing. And when police returned her phone five months later, they read many messages from people who Erbe had counseled during the depths of their addictions.“She got messages from people who she helped through their addictions, stayed with them until the shakes went away, while they were vomiting and sick. We were just amazed,” she said.Perhaps Erbe helped others through that because she knew how difficult it was to deal with herself.About a month before she died, she had successfully gone through detox with help from counselors at the Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Coalition. But finding a residential placement was difficult.Rusnock always knew Chrissy as a beautiful girl with entrancing eyes who loved her ferrets, her four-wheeler, and dancing.So it was a shock first time that her granddaughter told her about her addiction. It was in November of last year. She said before the revelation, there were no signs to her that her granddaughter was struggling.“I didn’t understand what she was telling me,” she said. “When she told me it was heroin, I could have died.”Erbe had gotten away from using heroin for more than 30 days. But she slipped back into her addiction. On Jan. 15, she was found dead. A toxicology test revealed that she had died from the drug fentanyl.Rusnock had last communicated with her granddaughter a couple days before, via text message. At the time, Rusnock was recovering from surgery. She still has the messages on her phone, and says she can’t bear to delete them. During the conversation, she told her granddaughter she would do anything for her, even if it meant disobeying her own doctor.“I didn’t have clearance to drive from my surgeon, but I told her, if you need me I’ll be in the car in a heartbeat,” she said.