Roger managed to kick his opioid habit after two frightening overdoses. But his son Brennan wasn鈥檛 able to overcome his addiction in time.
Roger's family -- one of thousands who have lost loved ones to overdoses this year -- is sharing their painful story, hoping that it will save lives.
His opioid addiction began with prescription painkillers, including morphine. After he was unable to get the prescription pills, he turned to street drugs.
One day, he took a drug he thought was heroin. It turned out to be fentanyl, a cheap synthetic opioid often smuggled in from China that can easily kill.
鈥淚 used and I hit the floor,鈥� Roger told CTV鈥檚 B.C. Bureau Chief Melanie Nagy from his living room in suburban Abbotsford, B.C.
鈥淚 was in the bathroom. They pushed the door open and called the ambulance. The ambulance (came), they hit me with the paddles and I finally came to on the gurney,鈥� he recalled.
Roger survived that overdose in part due to the fact that he wasn鈥檛 alone. He survived a second overdose too, and managed to quit using with the help of meetings.
His son Brennan was also using opioids and trying to quit. They went to the meetings together. But in March, Brennan died of an overdose at the age of 23. He was alone and at home.
Brennan was a music-lover, apprentice mechanic and new father.
鈥淏eing a father was the most important thing to him,鈥� said his stepmother, Gina. 鈥淗e was really trying hard to be a good dad 鈥� but you could see he that he was struggling,鈥� she added.
Mental health struggles
Gina said she wants people to understand that, 鈥測es addicts make choices, but 鈥� a lot of addicts make the choices that they make because of the struggles they lived through.鈥�
In Brennan鈥檚 case, that struggle was depression, she said.
鈥淎 lot of time people with mental health challenges choose to self-medicate themselves because there鈥檚 such a stigma around mental health,鈥� she added.
found that more than half of the victims appeared to have been struggling with their mental health.
More than 2,000 Canadians died from an opioid overdose in Canada in the first half to 2018 alone. That brings the total number of opioid-related deaths nationwide to 9,000 since 2016.
鈥楧on鈥檛 use alone鈥�
Roger wants Canadians to know that they if they鈥檙e going to use opioids, 鈥渄on鈥檛 use alone.鈥�
Addiction expert Nirmala Raniga points out that a majority overdoses in B.C. happened indoors and when the person was by himself or herself. The BC Coroners service says two-thirds died alone.
Overdoses, which occur when opioids stop people from breathing, can often be reversed if someone else is there to administer naloxone,
Health Canada says that Canadians who suspect an overdose should call 9-1-1 and administer naloxone, if it is available. The signs and symptoms of an overdose can include:
- difficulty walking, talking or staying awake
- blue lips or nails
- very small pupils
- cold and clammy skin
- dizziness and confusion
- extreme drowsiness
- choking, gurgling or snoring sounds
- slow, weak or no breathing
- and inability to wake up, even when shaken or shouted at.
