91Ƶ
Sam Thacker has seen too much pain in his short 16 years of life.
Earlier this year, he watched as a friend was stabbed. That friend lived.
Last Friday, he watched a friend overdose on a methamphetamine known as Molly. That friend lived.
A few hours later, he watched another friend overdose on the same type of methamphetamine. That friend died.
Sam spoke with KTW because he wanted people to know Adison Davies, his friend who died, 91Ƶwas awesome.91Ƶ
Adison was 16 and attended NorKam senior secondary.
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91ƵThey don91Ƶt know what they91Ƶre taking and who they91Ƶre buying it from,91Ƶ Sam said, adding he hopes his speaking out will scare others into not making the same decision his two friends did.
Sam was among 30 friends who headed to Kelowna last weekend for the Center of Gravity music and sports festival.
He said the first day of the three-day festival 91Ƶ Friday 91Ƶ was fun, with a main stage full of bands from mid-morning through to the early evening.
At some point during the day, Sam said his friend told him he and Adison had obtained some drugs from a person at the festival.
91ƵA few hours later, he was shaking and he came over to me and said, 91ƵI need help. I need help,91Ƶ91Ƶ Sam said.
Sam and others got the friend to the first-aid tent, where a team of doctors, nurses and paramedics went to work immediately. An ambulance was stationed nearby.
91ƵThey hit him with something,91Ƶ Sam said, likely an injection of Naloxone, which is used to temporarily reverse an overdose from opioids. His friend is heavier and stronger, which Sam suspects helped the teen react positively to the medical intervention.
A short time later, Sam and his girlfriend went to check on the friend, to be sure he was fine 91Ƶ and saw Adison being carried into the medical tent by two paramedics.
The medical team tried to save her and she was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital, where she died.
Sam said he and his girlfriend went to the hospital on Sunday and talked with the doctors and paramedics.
91ƵThey said they did all they could,91Ƶ he said. 91ƵThey really worked hard to keep her alive.91Ƶ
Just 16, Adison graduated from NorKam early and planned to enter Thompson River University in the fall to study psychology and sociology. She had also talked about a career in medicine. She had worked two jobs to save enough money to buy a car.
Sam knew her since they were both in Grade 8 and said she had 91Ƶa really caring soul.91Ƶ
At some point, Sam plans to sit down and talk with the friend who lived. He said the teen doesn91Ƶt remember much about the incident and Sam wants him to know how close he came to dying.
91ƵIt91Ƶs so hard for people to understand,91Ƶ he said. 91ƵI was shook. Damn, I just saw someone OD before me, someone you know is five feet in front of you and you can91Ƶt do anything. Seeing it first-hand and hearing about it second-hand, it91Ƶs different.
91ƵIt changes you.91Ƶ
On Sunday night, the teens returned to the site of the festival. They were getting ready to come back to Kamloops and, as they stood there, Sam91Ƶs girlfriend turned to him.
91ƵI see Adison everywhere,91Ƶ she said.
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