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Jay Pernu on the pitcher's mound of the Stillwater Area High School baseball field in Oak Park Heights on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. It was his late son Jayson Pernu's favorite place on Earth, he says. Jayson "Lefty" Pernu, a star pitcher for the Stillwater Ponies during his junior year, became addicted to opioid pain medications after surgery for a shoulder injury.

He died of an opioid/fentanyl overdose on May 23, 2019, at 26. (John Autey / Pioneer Press) Jay Pernu's forearm is tattooed with remembrances of his late son, Jayson Pernu, including the coordinates of the pitcher's mound at the Stillwater Area High School baseball field in Oak Park Heights. Since his son's death, Pernu has been working to raise awareness of opioid addiction.



(John Autey / Pioneer Press) A photograph of Jayson Pernu is displayed on the wall in the Lake Elmo home of his parents on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Jayson "Lefty" Pernu, a star pitcher for the Stillwater Ponies during his junior year, became addicted to opioid pain medications after surgery for a shoulder injured during casual pick-up football game during the off-season. He died of an opioid/fentanyl overdose on May 23, 2019.

He was 26. Since his son's death, Jay Pernu has been working to raise awareness of opioid addiction. (John Autey / Pioneer Press) A photo of Jayson Pernu pitching for the Stillwater Ponies is displayed in the Lake Elmo home of his parents on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

Jayson "Lefty" Pernu, a star pitcher for the Stillwater P.

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