TAMPA — A Bay area parent lost a daughter to fentanyl and now is telling her story to educate others.

Michael Ortoll lost his daughter Christine in 2020. He is promoting a documentary about her life and the need to tackle the ever-growing fentanyl crisis

At his Tampa home, he showed dozens of pictures of Christine. She battled addiction for years, and Ortoll says she was in and out of treatment facilities and eventually managed to get clean.

“She was engaged. She had her own home. She had her own car. She had her dream job. So she had found purpose in a way few others do with this disease,” Ortoll said.

She was working at a recovery center but relapsed and overdosed on a substance laced with fentanyl, and she died. Ortoll says he later discovered her journals and read about his daughter's struggles with family issues, her addiction and her hopes and dreams.

“I saw her heart open up,” Ortoll said.

He took those journals and made a full-length documentary about her life and the fentanyl crisis facing the United States. It's called “One Second At A Time.”

“I want to help other parents. I think we as parents love our children more than any body else, but we can hurt them,” Ortoll said.

Michael Ortoll and his daughter, Christine (Family photo)

The documentary has gained international attention and is planning a wide release in the U.S. and in Latin America. He says it covers Christine’s life but also how China and drug cartels fuel the crisis. He travels to the southern border to learn how the deadly drug is flowing into the country. He says the federal government needs to do more to stop the flow of drugs and go after the cartels.

Besides making the documentary, Ortoll also established a charity in Christine's name.

Ortoll has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. He is too busy spreading the word about the dangers of addiction and fentanyl.