Editor91裸聊视频檚 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. He91裸聊视频檚 been sober for seven months now, has changed careers and is focusing on his health.
It wasn91裸聊视频檛 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 91裸聊视频� a time his mom, Kate, describes as 91裸聊视频渃haotic.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淗e had nowhere to live and we just thought, 91裸聊视频榃e91裸聊视频檝e got to do something,91裸聊视频� 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.91裸聊视频�
On that fateful November night, Kate and her husband overheard very strange breathing sounds coming from John91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淭he lady from 911 was awesome,91裸聊视频� said Kate. 91裸聊视频淪he stayed on the line and did what she could to help, but we thought we were losing him.91裸聊视频�
Once paramedics arrived and took over, they pointed out the paraphernalia consistent with opioid use, and began the naloxone process.
91裸聊视频淭hey gave him five doses,91裸聊视频� said Kate. 91裸聊视频淭hey said at the time that was the most they had ever given anyone who hasn91裸聊视频檛 died. The fifth dose brought him back. He woke up like nothing had happened.91裸聊视频�
John said it started as a typical night for him.
91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 remember too much, but it was a paycheque weekend, so I was partying by myself 91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 how I liked to do it; I didn91裸聊视频檛 like being around others,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 would mix cocaine with the heroin/fentanyl91裸聊视频�. Usually, you just go to sleep, and you wake up a couple of hours later and you91裸聊视频檙e fine. But this night I wasn91裸聊视频檛.91裸聊视频�
John knows that the paramedics saved his life.
91裸聊视频淚 do remember the paramedic, the one guy especially. I just remember, he just wouldn91裸聊视频檛 give up on me, and I am so thankful. He was a younger guy 91裸聊视频� probably younger than me 91裸聊视频� but he had a big heart, and if it wasn91裸聊视频檛 for him, I would have lost my life.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭he paramedics were so professional,91裸聊视频� added Kate. 91裸聊视频淭hey made no judgment, they just did their job and helped him.91裸聊视频�
Paramedics urged John to go to the hospital, which he did. A couple of hours after being admitted, he had a heart attack.
91裸聊视频淭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,91裸聊视频� said Kate.
John signed himself out of the hospital the next day, against the doctors91裸聊视频� wishes.
91裸聊视频淏ut not before they gave him their two cents91裸聊视频� worth on how much risk he had put himself under by doing the drugs,91裸聊视频� said Kate. 91裸聊视频淗e was doing fentanyl and carfentanil by that time. I think it scared him because he stayed away from it after that.91裸聊视频�
John said although he had naloxone injections before, this one rattled him.
91裸聊视频淚 can count maybe 10 times I had to be 91裸聊视频楴arcaned91裸聊视频� 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,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭here were others, but I believe that one, my heart stopped. 91裸聊视频�
Familiar path to dependency
John91裸聊视频檚 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.
91裸聊视频淗e was critically injured and in hospital with pretty much every bone broken below his head,91裸聊视频� said Kate. 91裸聊视频淪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 couldn91裸聊视频檛 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.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 when I had painkillers for the first time and I kind of liked the feeling, but I didn91裸聊视频檛 start (with the heavier drugs) until a little after that,91裸聊视频� said John. 91裸聊视频淚 was offered OxyContin and after a while, it just went into a full-blown heroin addiction, fentanyl addiction.91裸聊视频�
He said that for the first while, he was able to limit his use to weekends.
91裸聊视频淚 was trying to use and still have a normal lifestyle, going to work and things like that,91裸聊视频� said John. 91裸聊视频淏ut then it got to the point that I was using at work, too.91裸聊视频�
John would use for a few days, go through a self-detox, then go back to the drugs.
91裸聊视频淚t was always a cycle of going back to it, then detoxing91裸聊视频� 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 91裸聊视频� After a short span of that actually working, it wasn91裸聊视频檛 like that anymore.91裸聊视频�
Eventually, the high took over John91裸聊视频檚 life.
91裸聊视频淚 ended up being homeless, and that was the only thing that mattered, was the drug.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淭he challenges are always there,91裸聊视频� said John. 91裸聊视频淭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 91裸聊视频� being sober at that moment; go to sleep sober. It91裸聊视频檚 not been easy, but I have to accept that I have made that decision that I can91裸聊视频檛 ever do it again, for any reason. It91裸聊视频檚 such a slippery, dangerous slope. I know I can91裸聊视频檛 just do it once, or I will be right back at it.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淗e knows what his triggers are, and he91裸聊视频檚 staying away from all that,91裸聊视频� said Kate. 91裸聊视频淗e was in construction, which was a big trigger. So he got out of that and is doing something totally different now.91裸聊视频�
John said the support he has received from his family keeps him going in the tough times.
91裸聊视频淭hey make me so proud. They haven91裸聊视频檛 given up on me, so I am not going to give up on myself.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淭hat night especially kind of hits me,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淲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 I91裸聊视频檓 laying there, dead, in front of her. That91裸聊视频檚 something I don91裸聊视频檛 want my mom, or anyone that is close to me to ever go through again.91裸聊视频�
As for Kate, she said Nar-Anon has been a godsend to her.
91裸聊视频淭hat is what helped me survive,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 still go to meetings. You don91裸聊视频檛 have anyone else you can talk to about this. Your normal friends don91裸聊视频檛 want to hear about it. But there you can talk about everything going on, and get the help you need.91裸聊视频�
Watch for signs
Kate said if there is one piece of advice she could pass along to parents, it91裸聊视频檚 to watch for certain telltale signs.
91裸聊视频淔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.
91裸聊视频淲hen they stop seeing their old friends, good friends, and shadier friends start coming around91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 when I noticed the difference.91裸聊视频�
Island Health offers many options and services for those seeking assistance with their dependency issues. Visit for more information.
terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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