What you are about to read is the story of a young man who died due to drugs and alcohol. His story inspires hope within those who deal with similar issues. He struggled in his relationship with God, but a few days before his death he rededicated his life to the Lord and wrote a variety of letters stating that he felt as though God was working through him and changing his life. Although Dustin left this world for a better place, his story lives on and his dreams of helping others continue to operate.

Dustin Lee McGrew was born on May 12, 1987, at the Oklahoma Osteopathic Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a single mother. Dustin had two siblings, a sister named Dee Dee, and a brother named Trey. At the age of four, Dustin's mother introduced Dustin to Price, his biological father. At age six, Dustin was introduced to his paternal grandparents. Terry and Nedra Babcock loved Dustin from the moment they first saw him. It was at this time in 1994 that Terry and Nedra decided to accept Dustin into their home.

Dustin loved living with his grandparents. Terry and Nedra provided for him in ways that his mother and father could not. Dustin attended Wright Elementary and then transferred to Evangelistic Temple Christian School. Although Dustin excelled in all subjects, he loved math and science the best. Throughout elementary and middle school, Dustin was an Honor Student and although short in stature, Dustin was a star basketball player. He loved to play basketball with his friends, and he would usually beat them. It was during this time that Dustin asked his grandparents to legally adopt him and on August 3, 2001, he officially became Dustin Lee Babcock. He used to tell his grandparents how much he liked his new name. While attending Evangelistic Temple School, Dustin made a lot of great friends, but towards the end of his eighth grade year he began to become mixed in with the wrong crowd and his personality began to change.

When the time came to enroll Dustin in high school, his grandparents thought it best that he attend Victory Christian School, but Dustin insisted on going into a public high school. That is where his life and attitude began to spiral downhill. He began to skip classes and against his curfew, Dustin would stay out late into the night. His grandparents sought professional counseling because of his disobedience and rebellion, but nothing seemed to work. After struggling with Dustin's behavior, his grandparents loaded up the truck and took him to Agape Boarding School for Boys in Stockton, Missouri.

At first Dustin hated his new school. The school was designed to be very structured and rigid. He was only allowed to see his grandparents once every three months and talk to them on the phone once every two weeks. However, Terry and Nedra made sure that Dustin received three letters a week and Dustin made sure that they received at least two in return. It was while he was at Agape that Dustin rededicated his life to the Lord. He slowly began to overcome his alcohol and drug addictions and think about his future. After spending a year and one week at Agape, Dustin's grandparents believed that Dustin should be allowed to come home.

When Dustin came home, his family and friends were very excited to see the changes that Dustin had made in his life. Dustin once again became very involved in his church youth group and even gave a testimony of his life to the youth about what God had done for him over the past year. The Dustin everyone remembered had changed into a young man of God. Terry and Nedra were so proud of Dustin. They bought him a small BMW for his sixteenth birthday. However, it wasn't long before Dustin slipped back into his old habits.

Once again, Dustin underwent a personality change. He sunk back into his old crowd of friends, and much to his grandparent's disappointment, he began to drink alcohol and do drugs. Nedra noticed that "he seemed to choose different friends, and the friends he chose were always in trouble." His behavior began to relapse. He started to receive numerous driving tickets, and once again he started violating his curfew. Dustin's friends then influenced him to steal in order to have money to buy drugs. On May 28, 2005, Dustin, along with a couple of friends, was arrested for having drugs and drug paraphernalia. A friend paid for his bail, and Terry and Nedra hired an attorney that was able to get the charges dismissed. Dustin struggled to do the right thing but he wasn't strong enough to refuse the temptation that his friends caused.

Once again on September 24, 2005, Dustin and three of his friends were arrested for possession of drugs and breaking and entering. The boys that Dustin were with that night all said that Dustin was the only one that did anything wrong. They were let go. However Dustin's grandparents decided it would be beneficial if Dustin had to stay in jail. To this day, they are glad they made that decision. While he was in jail, Dustin thought a lot about his life, his family, his future, and his relationship with God.  During this time, Dustin wrote letters that were later given to his family that confirmed Dustin's decision to give his life back to Jesus and to attempt to make a better life for himself.

On September 30, 2005, Terry and Nedra bailed Dustin out of jail. That night Dustin wanted to go to the fair with his girlfriend. Reluctantly, his grandparents decided to grant him his wish as long as he was home by 11:00. Dustin came home, took a shower and got ready for his date. When he walked out the door that night, his grandparents didn't realize that was the last time they would see him alive.

At the fair Dustin met up with some of his "old" friends. They then decided to celebrate his release from jail with a few drinks. His friends then offered him Tramadol and a few other drugs, which Dustin decided to take. That night Dustin partied with his friends until around 4:00 a.m. at which point everyone passed out. The measured level of Tramadol found in Dustin's body along with the amount of alcohol he drank caused Dustin to go into Cardiac Arrest. When his friends awoke, they found Dustin unresponsive. They then proceeded to take him to Saint Francis Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. On October 1, 2005, at 5:00 p.m., five Tulsa Policemen arrived at the home of Terry and Nedra Babcock and relayed to them the news of Dustin's death.

Although Dustin's death is a tragedy, especially to those he knew, his death is not in vain. Since then, his grandparent's have talked to many different youth, and have inspired individuals nationwide who deal with issues that Dustin struggled with. Dustin was unable to complete the task of warning youth about the effects that drugs and alcohol have in people's lives, but through his grandparents', his dreams are being carried out. God decided to take Dustin out of his struggle and misery at a time in his life when Dustin was right with the Lord. Although everyone misses Dustin greatly, we all know that Dustin is in a better place: He is with his heavenly Father.

Nedra's dream is to mentor young people in the Tulsa School District.  She has started the "Dustin Babcock Foundation." Through this foundation, Nedra plans to provide teens that have a desire to be released from alcohol and drug addictions with help, counseling, and scholarships. Nedra would like to thank The Brent Sharpio Foundation for Drug Awareness for allowing her to share Dustin' story. Through organizations such as these, young people are informed about the detrimental effects that drugs and alcohol cause and are advised about how to change their habits. Please help support these organizations and help inspire people faced with problems that are similar to those of Dustin Lee Babcock's.