EditorB次元官网网址檚 note: The names of the family members in this article have been changed for privacy reasons.
***
Thirty-five-year-old John is on the road to recovery. HeB次元官网网址檚 been sober for seven months now, has changed careers and is focusing on his health.
It wasnB次元官网网址檛 always like that though. There was a time when all he could focus on was getting high. Then came the night he almost died in November of 2020.
John was living with his parents at the time B次元官网网址� a time his mom, Kate, describes as B次元官网网址渃haotic.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗e had nowhere to live and we just thought, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檝e got to do something,B次元官网网址� but we were thrown into this with little or no knowledge on drugs and what to do with someone who is addicted, but we just knew if we could give him somewhere safe.B次元官网网址�
On that fateful November night, Kate and her husband overheard very strange breathing sounds coming from JohnB次元官网网址檚 room. They checked on John and tried to wake him up, to no avail.
They called 911 and stayed on the line while they waited for paramedics to arrive while their son was turning blue.
B次元官网网址淭he lady from 911 was awesome,B次元官网网址� said Kate. B次元官网网址淪he stayed on the line and did what she could to help, but we thought we were losing him.B次元官网网址�
Once paramedics arrived and took over, they pointed out the paraphernalia consistent with opioid use, and began the naloxone process.
B次元官网网址淭hey gave him five doses,B次元官网网址� said Kate. B次元官网网址淭hey said at the time that was the most they had ever given anyone who hasnB次元官网网址檛 died. The fifth dose brought him back. He woke up like nothing had happened.B次元官网网址�
John said it started as a typical night for him.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 remember too much, but it was a paycheque weekend, so I was partying by myself B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 how I liked to do it; I didnB次元官网网址檛 like being around others,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 would mix cocaine with the heroin/fentanylB次元官网网址�. Usually, you just go to sleep, and you wake up a couple of hours later and youB次元官网网址檙e fine. But this night I wasnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�
John knows that the paramedics saved his life.
B次元官网网址淚 do remember the paramedic, the one guy especially. I just remember, he just wouldnB次元官网网址檛 give up on me, and I am so thankful. He was a younger guy B次元官网网址� probably younger than me B次元官网网址� but he had a big heart, and if it wasnB次元官网网址檛 for him, I would have lost my life.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he paramedics were so professional,B次元官网网址� added Kate. B次元官网网址淭hey made no judgment, they just did their job and helped him.B次元官网网址�
Paramedics urged John to go to the hospital, which he did. A couple of hours after being admitted, he had a heart attack.
B次元官网网址淭hat (the five doses) was the reason they thought he should go in (to the hospital) because they had never given that much to anyone before and they were worried about his health,B次元官网网址� said Kate.
John signed himself out of the hospital the next day, against the doctorsB次元官网网址� wishes.
B次元官网网址淏ut not before they gave him their two centsB次元官网网址� worth on how much risk he had put himself under by doing the drugs,B次元官网网址� said Kate. B次元官网网址淗e was doing fentanyl and carfentanil by that time. I think it scared him because he stayed away from it after that.B次元官网网址�
John said although he had naloxone injections before, this one rattled him.
B次元官网网址淚 can count maybe 10 times I had to be B次元官网网址楴arcanedB次元官网网址� and resuscitated back, but the one in November 2020 was the biggest, scariest one, especially because I was with my parents, my mom, under her roof when it happened,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭here were others, but I believe that one, my heart stopped. B次元官网网址�
Familiar path to dependency
JohnB次元官网网址檚 spiral into opioid dependency is a familiar tale.
He was in a bad car accident many years ago, and the drugs he was given for pain relief became a necessary part of his life.
B次元官网网址淗e was critically injured and in hospital with pretty much every bone broken below his head,B次元官网网址� said Kate. B次元官网网址淪o they started him on all kinds of medication then. He was in the hospital for about three months and then in a wheelchair for another six months after that. With the whole privacy thing I was not privy to all the drugs he was on, but I did notice (changes). I couldnB次元官网网址檛 tell if it was because of how much pain he was in, or if it was the drugs talking, but his personality - that friendly, happy kid that I knew - that was gone. The pain, and the drugs, had taken over.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 when I had painkillers for the first time and I kind of liked the feeling, but I didnB次元官网网址檛 start (with the heavier drugs) until a little after that,B次元官网网址� said John. B次元官网网址淚 was offered OxyContin and after a while, it just went into a full-blown heroin addiction, fentanyl addiction.B次元官网网址�
He said that for the first while, he was able to limit his use to weekends.
B次元官网网址淚 was trying to use and still have a normal lifestyle, going to work and things like that,B次元官网网址� said John. B次元官网网址淏ut then it got to the point that I was using at work, too.B次元官网网址�
John would use for a few days, go through a self-detox, then go back to the drugs.
B次元官网网址淚t was always a cycle of going back to it, then detoxingB次元官网网址� the detoxing was terrible. Everything that you go through by detoxing is awful. But then after a week passed, for me, personally, I would forget about the harshness of the detox and convince myself to go back to the drugs B次元官网网址� After a short span of that actually working, it wasnB次元官网网址檛 like that anymore.B次元官网网址�
Eventually, the high took over JohnB次元官网网址檚 life.
B次元官网网址淚 ended up being homeless, and that was the only thing that mattered, was the drug.B次元官网网址�
Recovering
John had a relapse shortly after release from the hospital, then checked into a rehab program. He has been sober now for seven months.
B次元官网网址淭he challenges are always there,B次元官网网址� said John. B次元官网网址淭here are times when I think throw caution to the wind and get back into it, what does it really matter? So I have to snap myself out of it and think about now B次元官网网址� being sober at that moment; go to sleep sober. ItB次元官网网址檚 not been easy, but I have to accept that I have made that decision that I canB次元官网网址檛 ever do it again, for any reason. ItB次元官网网址檚 such a slippery, dangerous slope. I know I canB次元官网网址檛 just do it once, or I will be right back at it.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淗e knows what his triggers are, and heB次元官网网址檚 staying away from all that,B次元官网网址� said Kate. B次元官网网址淗e was in construction, which was a big trigger. So he got out of that and is doing something totally different now.B次元官网网址�
John said the support he has received from his family keeps him going in the tough times.
B次元官网网址淭hey make me so proud. They havenB次元官网网址檛 given up on me, so I am not going to give up on myself.B次元官网网址�
The emotion he feels for his family now is something that was not there when he was in the grips of dependency. But John looks back on that night in November, 2020 as a turning point in his life.
B次元官网网址淭hat night especially kind of hits me,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲hen I bring it up, I shed a tear, just knowing how my mom must have felt, seeing them use Narcan after Narcan kit and IB次元官网网址檓 laying there, dead, in front of her. ThatB次元官网网址檚 something I donB次元官网网址檛 want my mom, or anyone that is close to me to ever go through again.B次元官网网址�
As for Kate, she said Nar-Anon has been a godsend to her.
B次元官网网址淭hat is what helped me survive,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 still go to meetings. You donB次元官网网址檛 have anyone else you can talk to about this. Your normal friends donB次元官网网址檛 want to hear about it. But there you can talk about everything going on, and get the help you need.B次元官网网址�
Watch for signs
Kate said if there is one piece of advice she could pass along to parents, itB次元官网网址檚 to watch for certain telltale signs.
B次元官网网址淔or me, it was recognizing when they start losing interest in things that they always loved to do. The sports stopped. My son was an incredible artist. He stopped drawing; he stopped all of that. And his friends changed totally too.
B次元官网网址淲hen they stop seeing their old friends, good friends, and shadier friends start coming aroundB次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 when I noticed the difference.B次元官网网址�
Island Health offers many options and services for those seeking assistance with their dependency issues. Visit for more information.
terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on and follow us on
