Surviving an overdose

I recently pointed to an article discussing the importance of environment in overcoming addiction. It was a profile of Kristen Smith who may know a thing or two about the subject, seeing that she gave up a heroin after a bank robbery conviction, and subsequently became an addiction scientist.

As I mentioned then, drugs have always seemed like a terrible idea to me and reading this article by Erika Fry on the "epidemic within the drug epidemic", on what happens to some people who survive an overdose, further drilled that point home. An overdose, can starve the body of oxygen leading to catastrophic brain injuries that in severe cases, results in round the clock care. This is the worse case scenario.

Others are left with cognitive dysfunction that makes ordinary life tasks difficult:

... most injuries manifest in quiet but life-altering ways such as memory loss or diminished executive function. They can affect one’s ability to hold down a job, or fully participate in addiction recovery.

Severe cases can drain patients of their life potential, according to Dr Jennifer Stevens, the director of the Center for Healthcare Delivery Science at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Young people in particular can become “incredibly financially toxic to themselves and their loved ones” when they are not able to work or require long-term support.

In other words, surviving an overdose can leave families fighting a different kind of crisis – one measured not in deaths, but in years of care.

As if the loved ones and family members have not suffered enough, there are additional burdens to contend with:

A half-dozen families I interviewed described the same experience: once hospitalized with overdose-related brain injuries, their loved ones were treated as lost causes.

Many felt judged harshly by medical staff for the role drugs played in the injuries, or for the decisions they made around their care. And a number shared the belief that young anoxic brain injury patients, often overdose survivors, are prematurely targeted for organ donation.

The experience can be isolating, too. Several parents told me they were shunned from support groups for families of opioid victims since their loved ones were still alive.

Here is a photo essay that accompanies the article, showing a day in the life of caring for an overdose survivor. None of it looks easy.

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