Jessica Grubb was the 30 year old daughter of David and Kate Grubb. She was an avid runner, averaging over five miles a day. Jessica baked, created her own hashtag on Instagram, (#JessaBakes), and regularly made delicious treats for her family, including Christmas cookies and birthday cakes. She cared so much about community activism, walking out of school the first day of the Iraqi War, resulting in her only suspension, but most people who have heard of her only know one thing: Jessica Grubb was a heroin addict.

Addiction is a massive health problem in the United States. 24.6 million Americans are currently addicts, and this number continues to rise. Of this massive number, only 11 percent get medical care for their addiction. Another shocking number, 46 percent of all current prisoners are incarcerated on drug related offenses.

Jessica Grubb’s personal story of addiction, as told by her father at the West Virginia town hall meeting with President Obama, inspired the president to embark in new drug regulation. The Grubbs and President Obama are working on changing how the U.S. and lawmakers view drug addiction, with less focus on a war landing sufferers in prisons and jails and more on medical treatment to fix the problem, not raise it.

But Jessica Grubb was more than a heroin addict.

Jessica, or Jessa as her family called her, was a nerd,who adored the Legend of Zelda and "Doctor Who." She even introduced Doctor Who to her younger sister, Hannah, and the two of them shared a connection over the wildly eccentric alien with two hearts. The love for this common show was so strong that both sisters fought for the Tardis sticker on Jessa’s car.

She was a massively caring sister, loving her younger siblings but adoring Emma, the middle sister with autism. She often talked about a home for adults with disabilities where they could live their lives without them and the people around them feeling like they were a burden because she loved human life and wanted so badly for everyone to be treated like they mattered. Because they do.

Jessa Grubb was a young woman who had a passion for life and the little things. Scrolling through her Facebook or Instagram pages or talking to one of her sisters or friends will quickly tell you that. She tried to embrace each day like it was her last because she was more than aware that any could be, especially after a heroin overdose in August of 2015.

Listening to her sister Hannah talk about Jessa shows she was the type of woman that anyone would be honored to have known, but the media isn’t talking about that. The media is talking about her medical condition, her addiction, like it defined her. Jessica Grubb and all those fighting drug addiction are not the drug addict label. Those of us who have watched an addict suffer know this.

Addicts don’t become a completely different person while using drugs. Yes, they change while under the influence of the substance and cravings lead them to do things they normally wouldn’t, but they’re still the person the families and friends love. They have hobbies, cry at sappy movies, sing loudly and off key, threaten bullies picking on their younger sisters, and they love.

Her sister put it like this: “I saw all of the changes that she made in life, and I still loved her no matter what. She is and always will be my sister. You don't understand how hard it is until you love an addict.”

We should care about Jessa Grubb and the entire Grubb family, not because she was an addict. We should care about her because she was a vibrant young woman who genuinely wanted to change the world, but was taken far too soon. We should care because her family is using her awful passing to try and make change, campaigning for “Jessa’s Law” so that addicts in hospitals are not prescribed the massive amount of painkillers that she was, and crowdfunding forJessa’s Place, a home for adults with disabilities requiring almost constant care.

Most importantly, we should care about Jessica Grubb because she was a human who loved and was loved, and even after her death, is impacting the world in a positive manner.