It’s been five years since formerGleestarCory Monteithdied of aheroin overdosein 2013, but for his mother Ann McGregor, it’s like no time at all has passed.
“I still can’t pick up the pieces,” McGregor, 67, tells PEOPLE of losing her younger sonwhen he was just 31. (Her son Shaun is 38.) “My world totally stopped. And I’m a different person than I was before.”
Courtesy Ann Mcgregor
“We used to go everywhere together,” recalls McGregor in this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday. “We had a favorite restaurant where we’d share fish and chips. Even at 3 years old, he would stand at the counter and pay the bill. He could talk to anyone. He just had a way about him, and all I could do was enjoy it.”
“There was this disconnect,” says McGregor. “Because he was pushed so far ahead and always associated with older children, but he was still a boy.”
Monteith began drinking and smoking marijuana at 13. By the time he was 19, he was in rehab for the second time.
“He tried to keep everything from me, because he loved me and wanted to protect me,” says McGregor, whotook Monteith to rehabat 15 and then again at 19. “He was just always so curious. And the darker world just drew him in.”
Eventually, Monteith got sober and moved to Los Angeles, where he got bit parts on television before landing astarring roleonGlee.
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But as busy as he was, Monteith always made time for mom.
“He never missed my birthday,” says McGregor, who notes that Monteith used to show up at her door as a surprise and would often send her plane tickets to come visit in L.A.
But eventually, Monteith fell back into old habits. “He wasn’t ready for the Hollywood world,” explains McGregor, who says her son admitted he was using drugs again in December 2012, seven months before his death. “Drugs were his way of checking out.”
Monteith checked into a month-long rehab in April 2013, but between May and July, he had “massive” dental work that McGregor worries could have affected his sobriety.
“He had little teeth and they were all capped,” says McGregor. “He had a lot of medication in his system, which was not good for his body coming out of rehab.” (When Monteith’s body was discovered in a Vancouver hotel room on July 13, 2013, there were traces ofmorphine, codeine and heroinin his system.)
Now, McGregor is focused on remembering her son and continuing his legacy.
Monteith worked withProject Limelight, a non-profit, free performing arts program for youths, as well asSt. James Music Academy, which provides classical music education for at risk children.
“Cory believed in prevention, rather than trying to fix people,” says McGregor, who herself is working withAmber Academy, a non-profit in her community that empowers youth through fine arts. “He wanted to give children opportunities to shine and feel good about themselves so they wouldn’t turn to drugs.”
“Cory was such a loving and genuine person,” says McGregor. “And the best part of his life was still ahead.”
source: people.com
