I never would have thought that I would have been battling opioid addiction at 23 years old. I came from a great family; I played sports, attended college, and was an essential part of my family and community. I was the all-American kid who turned into a broken young man. I struggled with an opiate addiction that started with a legitimate prescription from a sports injury. I went down a long dark road that led me to the worst moments of my life. I eventually turned to heroin and other IV opiates to support my addiction. I struggled with this addiction for a few years before deciding to give recovery and sobriety a shot. I went through multiple detoxes and rehabs during this journey and eventually sobriety started to stick with me.
I relapsed after a stint in sobriety. I went back to using IV heroin and fentanyl. Due to my stint in sobriety, I had a much lower tolerance to the drugs that I used to do regularly. This relapse only lasted for a few days, but my last use in that relapse resulted in an accidental overdose. My father found me slumped over my bed in my bedroom with blue lips and barely breathing. He knew that I had overdosed. Because he knew that I was an opiate addict, he kept Narcan in the house. He went and got the Narcan and administered the Narcan to me, ultimately saving my life. That was my last use of any mood- or mind-altering substance.
Because of the Narcan that was given to me, I was able to find recovery again and have now been sober for over 15 months. Narcan gave me another chance at life, it gave my mother and father their son back, it gave my younger brother and sister their big brother back and it gave my community a functioning member of society back.
Without Narcan being immediately available I would not be alive to write this testimony today. Because of this experience, I believe wholeheartedly that Narcan should be a household item. If someone that is using substances is still breathing, there is hope that they can recover, without Narcan there are thousands of sober people who would have never been able to get the opportunity to recover like I have. I know that there are thousands of stories out there like mine and thousands of people that now can live happy and fulfilling lives because Narcan saved their life.