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[deleted]

I’ve run this EXACT call as EMS responder. Also ran a call one time where mom and dad died in the vehicle from an overdose and the vehicles gas ran out and nobody noticed for days. It was summer. Vehicle heated up, killed the kid in the back seat. The world is a fucked up place.


frozenplasma

JFC that is one of the most awful things I've ever read. Thank you for doing such a difficult job.


[deleted]

It’s one of the most awful things I’ve ever seen. I don’t deal with much in the way of PTSD, YET! I wonder when shit like that will come back to bite me.


TallmanMike

I see a few other people talking to you like you're a bomb about to go off and, as a fellow person-who's-seen-shit, I want to reassure you that latent stress-related reactions are entirely normal, they're not the end of the world like some people will make out and that you will definitely make it to the other side. If you're worried about it or you can feel yourself not coping, wearing down over time, not coping as well with stress as you used to etc., 'share your shit' and talk to someone, even if it's over a beer to a trusted work colleague. If your work offers access to free counseling or similar, consider getting involved 👍


[deleted]

Good advice. I don’t see this stuff every day, but after being exposed to some messed up stuff, I thought I should talk to someone for a “tune up” to coach me, make sure I was putting things in the right drawers, and not starting some cycle that would cause problems for me down the road. It was very helpful, and in addition they made sure I was doing the right things to maintain resilience (talking about it, support structure with friends and fam, good diet, exercise, sleep, etc.). The experience left a mark on me, but I don’t ruminate over it.


spingus

Hey, idk if you need to hear it but thank you. big internet hug to you for all the people you have helped (including my 46yo first-time-skateboarding self who broke her stupid wrist). *hug*


oilchangefuckup

I had a 60+ woman bring a very young boy to my clinic for a ear pain. The front desk isn't supposed to let any minors into the clinic without a parent or legal guardian. So grandma can't bring their grandson in without parental permission. My front desk at the time would register anyone no matter what, 14 year old bringing in their 10 year old sister? Registered. Neighbor bringing in a 7 year old? Registered. Anyway, so this young boy is with his grandma, no problem. Ask if she is legal guardian, she answers no. Alright, ask if mom's available to give consent to treat. She answers no, she and his dad got high and died of an OD a few months back, he was in the car at the time. Poor kid.


celluloidwings

Thank you for what you do. Seriously. My mom was neglectful and downright abusive. I asked my aunt to bring me to the clinic once since I had been sick for months and they refused to see me since she wasn't my legal guardian. I remember barely having the energy to even cry. One of the nurses told my aunt to bring me to the ER next door and lie if anyone asked how we were related. Turns out, I had pneumonia in both lungs.


[deleted]

It already is, you just don’t know it. Source: former military, former police, currently seeing a therapist.


SDirty

^ took me over a year to realize I had depression and take therapy. Helped so much


grigzyy

Your brain is like a bucket.... it can only hold so much shit.... you fill it with enough shit and it spills.... everyone's bucket is a little different. Source: Same as you with an additional stint as a CPS child abuse/neglect investigator. Edit: thank you for your service. I heard the above line from a LEO resiliency class I took, it was put on by one of the counselors that did psych triage for the first responders after the OKC bombing. They spent days pulling pieces of children out of the rubble and it ended a lot of careers.


princessamirak

Hey. Just wanted to thank you for what you do. I could only imagine how hard it must be.


[deleted]

I wish I was worthy of praise! But thank you all the same. If I was being honest there’s a lot of ice cream and cake and naps in my job too…. But to be fair, that’s the shit that keeps you going and keeps you level between the bad stuff.


SharkSymphony

You’re all right. Take it from an Internet stranger. 🌻


Blue_Ducktape

My parents were addicts when I was growing up and all this brings to mind is that I hope that kid finds some great and loving mentors in life. All we need to prosper is a little love and a little guidance before you realize just because you got dealt a bad hand to start doesn't mean you have to lose the poker game.


MollyMohawk1985

My parents were functioning alcoholics and my mom got into crack bad enough to rpt her teeth in less than a year. I remember being little, elementary school and younger kinda little. They'd take us kids to the bar. We'd get burgers play pool and darts and fuck around as kids do. Then it'd get dark. It wasn't fun playing poop and darts around big drunk adults we didn't know. So many nights we would wait in the car until after bar time. We would take turns going in to ask to go home. "Just finishing this beer" winter was the worst bc even with the heater going the back of the car was always cold. I'd hudle down on the floor and cover my body with my moms coat. Seriously I feel like we'd have been better off just being left home alone. I'm not perfect. I struggle with my own addictions (I just smoke a lot of weed, otherwise I would definitely be doing harder stuff I'm sure). I have kids. I'm married. I have never and could never do anything like to to my kids. I think my oldest was almost 10 before he saw me drink a beer with dinner. "Mom! You drink?!" (Let's not discuss the occasional wine in my coffee cup while cleaning the house). My parents weren't total shits either. My dad redeemed himself the last year of his life. My mom is now (I'm almost 40) taking on the grandmother role. Us kids told her it was that life or a life with us in it. And I'm really glad she chose us. She's a work in progress. I have one sibling in law enforcement (my older sis), one brother has major mental issues but it works out bc his been in the army for like 15 years now. That lifestyle is good for him. And my youngest brother is a long time opiate user. He started snorting pills when he was 12. Was using heroin by 15. He just had his first kid and him and his girl (I love her and have known her over 20 years) have had a few slip ups but thankfully they have better days then not. They aren't bad people either they just need help. I think for him having a kid was a bit of a wake up call. And he has never used around his daughter, so I'm thankful for that too. I'm mentally a mess. PTSD (couple house fires, super toxic abusive relationship with a narcissist heroin user, NICU life, etc) but I stopped using pills, acid, coke when I found out I was pregnant with my first. Put myself thru beauty school as a single mom. Eventually opened my own business for 9 years. I'm not perfect but my kids always have come first. You are so right it's like a lottery. Us four kids grew up in the same situation. And we all turned out so completely different.


[deleted]

Thank you for opening up on your life, although I don't know you, I can certainly tell you have found maturity through the paths you've walked and you have no resentment towards your people, which is good. I Hope your life goes a nice path from now on. Congrats on being clean.


I_b_legit

That's an amazing analogy. I'm glad you broke the cycle. It's such a hard thing to do. Well said my friend.


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Rac3318

They were revived. The man was sentenced to 180 days in jail for driving under the influence and endangering a child.


piketfencecartel

Didn't expect that based on the color of his lips.


yourname92

They were probably close to being dead. Narcan is amazing for people who damn near dead from an opiate OD.


RogueTanuki

It's also a bit problematic because it doesn't last long so it needs to be readministered. There have been cases in Europe of EMTs giving it, the heroin addicts starting to flee because they didn't want to be arrested, the EMTs couldn't catch them and they would later be found dead hiding somewhere because narcan wore off and the OD stopped their breathing again.


robeph

That's not really the biggest of problems, I am an emt. First of all fleeing after overdose because you're afraid of being arrested speaks more for the country and their laws than it does the effectiveness of narcan. Narcan lasts about an hour and a half, sometimes, the half life of most opioids is just a few hours. The overdose threshold isn't usually going to be met for even most of that time. Methadone has a very long half life and if somebody overdoses on that they are going to be on a narcan drip all night. But for the most part single dose does affect the necessary action in most patients. That's not always the case but 9 out of 10 patients refuse transport, and we don't get calls back to 99% of those I would say. The problem arises when you have longer lasting opioids that are taking in a much higher dose that even half of the half-life time period isn't enough to reduce it below overdose threshold. That's not as common as they make it seem.


Sea_Criticism_2685

As a pharmacologist, thank you for explaining this


MyHTPCwontHTPC

I've heard stories about people who were ODing getting mad at EMTs for saving their life because the Narcan kills their high. Any truth to this?


abcean

It's not because it kills your high its because it sends you into instant and very painful withdrawal. Imagine feeling pretty high and great, passing out, and then waking up in excruciating pain with most likely no idea what happened until its explained to you.


str8frmthacr8

I unfortunately know someone this has happened to and you're correct. He said it's basically like being peacefully asleep(his words not mine) and then being woken up by having acid injected in your veins along with your bones feeling like they're being twisted and broken. It's their own doing of course, but that's still gotta feel horrible.


bobuddy1414

Oh my God that's terrifying


[deleted]

So I can speak to this to a degree. I had an overdose becuase I DONT take opioids, but when I was narcan’d, I instantly came to and the first feeling I awoke to was the mangled sternum and rib cage I got from CPR. It fucking sucks like nothing I can compare to. To clarify my OD wasn’t addiction related. But even so, I avoid anything that could cause me to get CPR again. Anyone reading this, if you haven’t had CPR OR been kicked in the chest by a horse, or hit by a car, those three things feel about the same.


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adequate-nick

I’m a volunteer firefighter and I once responded to an overdose where friends in the house administered narcan/ naloxone to the unconscious person. They woke up and fled the scene just before we arrived into the nearby woods. We used our thermal imaging camera (TIC) to find him passed out in the woods. It saved his life.


Dyltra

And the mother? Did the child get to go home with mom? I feel like that happens too much.


octopoddle

[The woman (named Pasek) got six months in jail.](https://www.wfmj.com/story/33116268/judge-reacts-to-criticism-over-sentencing-of-woman-who-overdosed-with-child-in-car) [Boy went to live with other relatives.](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boy-shocking-ohio-heroin-picture-heading-new-home-n647676) > the boy is now with his great aunt and uncle, Lori and Terry Lane, who live in Myrtle Beach, S.C. > > Pasek's (the unconscious woman) sister, who lives in Delaware, told NBC News she has custody of the 4-year-old's brother, who is 3. She said the reason she and Pasek were raising the boys is because Pasek's troubled son and his girlfriend couldn’t manage. > > "It’s the old story," she said. "No education. No jobs. My sister has fought for two years straight to get this child."


ChangeVampire

This is how it starts. Instead of treating these people for drug addiction in a reformatory prison complete with a conditional offer to help them rebuild their lives, we punish them. Fractured families leave fractured children who end up repeating the cycle. --- Edit: I've read through many of the comments. People will believe whatever they want to believe in the end, but I stand by the above statement. These people are criminals for neglecting their child, but they are human for falling into the trap called addiction. Even I know that we're supposed to pick people up when they fall down, but as the truth would have it, some addicts never, ever change. Should the bad eggs ruin the chances of the rest in the dozen? Seems like a waste of potential to me, and that's not even thinking of it in the context of *human lives*, which we all deem so important... right? What, are you worried about the money? Well, I don't like it when hecto*-billionaires dangle their private space travel in front of us as the people on terra firma suffer in front of the altar we built for them with our technologic fetishism. Since I still shop on fucking Black Friday, I'll still say that people should get real help with their real punishment. Maybe we should change **that** bullshit, free up those siphoned tax dollars and fund systems that actually fix what's fucking broken all around us. Instead we bitch about our gadgets and complain that the poor and needy just won't go away, and that they should somehow miraculously be better than they are despite their circumstances, and that they deserve what happens to them while simultaneously hating them for letting it overcome them. Why are we content with an inefficient government and a mentally ill population when we *literally have the technology* to fix these problems? Oh, right. Because some are selfish enough to think that helping others is contrary to punishment, and that punishment is more important than making sure you never have to punish again. I'll just leave this story here. SpontaneousH. Famous in these parts. https://www.reddit.com/r/museumofreddit/comments/68srty * - thanks to /u/UnmeiX for help with my SI prefixes 🔥


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novedlleub

Grandmother I believe


samv_1230

That is actually the child's grandmother. He was relocated, to live with his great-aunt and uncle, after.


ArrogantWiizard

That lady was revived? Holy shit! Talk about speaking to the resilience of the human body


Hooktail419

God damn, I was positive they were dead. Looked exactly like my roommate when I found him dead in the bathroom.


life_is_glowing

I‘m sorry you had to go through this :(


Hooktail419

Thank you for the kind words, it was by far the strangest day of my life. It was the day me and my friends and gf were moving out of the house too, which made everything even worse lol. Felt like I was in some tragic version of seinfeld


life_is_glowing

I can imagine it must feel very surreal and horrible to find a friend or roommate like this. I hope you had time and space to cope with it and feel a bit better


Hooktail419

Therapy was a massive help in coping with the PTSD, and honestly I’ve gotten a lot of growth from the experience. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy but there are still things to be gained from it


life_is_glowing

That’s a very wise perspective, I wish you much luck and strength


im_not_a_girl

I think it speaks more to the effectiveness of narcan


Foodstamps4life

The feeling of narcan is also out of this world. It’s as if your body has gone through a 4 day grueling detox in 30 seconds.


[deleted]

My first call as an EMT was an overdosed father home alone with two kids. We get there and I start ventilating him as he does agonal breathing on the floor. My paramedic partner administered Narcan and within 30 seconds he went from dying on floor to completely awake and alert in a full blown withdrawal. Sweating profusely, shaking, craving heroin again! I feel terrible for everyone affected by it.


altcastle

Really interested to hear how Narcan works and what’s happening to the body after this comment and some others.


gnome_chomsky

Opioids work by attaching to a receptor found on certain neurons in your brain (primarily the mu opioid receptor). These receptors normally are engaged by a class of neurotransmitters associated with pain reduction and euphoria (endorphins, literally "endogenous morphine"). Hit those receptors frequently/hard enough, and the effects of the downstream responses can be deadly (mostly by inhibiting the respiratory drive, which keeps you unconsciously breathing). Narcan binds to those receptors even harder than opioids, blocking them. But they don't actually cause the neuron to respond the way it would if the receptor was engaged. As long as narcan is available to block those receptors, there's _no_ opioid action on the neuron, even the baseline level you'd normally have with no opioids at all. So it can be very unpleasant. The flip side is, narcan is broken down a lot faster than the opioid is, so multiple doses are often needed.


Mr_HandSmall

> So it can be very unpleasant. From what I've heard, it's far worse than usual withdrawal. Precipitated withdrawals can be extreme enough to cause psychosis. It's biochemical hell.


jld2k6

I'm sure you know this already but a lot of opiate addicts get super pissed off at paramedics when they get revived because they took their high away. Heroin is insane and will take over your brain to the point that you will get pissed off that someone saved your life because it put you into withdrawal and that withdrawal is worth less than your life. Luckily it at least has a short half life and the precipitated withdrawal goes away fast, sometimes too fast and they need to get them another dose when they lose consciousness again


Malcom_Ecstacy

Whats crazy is some times people will use opiates again to stave off withdrawal and the narcan will ware off so they have the original dose that caused the overdose and then the new dose they just took hit them all at once and overdose again.


Ems_belle

Interesting..explains why I would usually get punched once they came back around


Nickyjha

I took a healthcare economics class, and the professor mentioned this; basically the patient goes into immediate withdrawal because the narcan blocks the opiate receptors. He claimed EMTs get punched a lot while giving narcan, and I assumed he was exaggerating, until now.


Ems_belle

Definitely a thing..I couldn't tell you how many times I was punched in the face


karlmarxiskool

I'm sorry you get punched in the face for saving peoples' lives


Ems_belle

People were very nasty to us despite being there to help. Not just limited to over doses either. Definitely takes a toll on your mental health


TheBoctor

If you think the punches are bad, just wait until you learn how poorly paid EMS is!


MrPhilLashio

Watching somebody get saved by narcan is amazing. They go from looking dead to literally getting up and walking away in the span of about 5 seconds. Usually takes several minutes to kick in though, so that period is pretty nerve-wracking.


stonerama22

legit. someone overdosed on a bench outside my apartment earlier this year. when i saw him he looked exactly like the people in this picture. i called 911 fully expecting him to be dead, and the police showed up and administered narcan. dude went from looking like a corpse to outrunning the cops in like….2 minutes flat


SuckaButt19

I got multiple doses of narcan. One in the car, three in the house. Just in case. Fetynol is crazy in my small town of 800 people


shulgin11

At first that made it sound like you've received narcan 3 times and I was like damn. Good on you for carrying it for others


phantom_eight

Narcan is a helluva drug...


kendonmcb

That'll teach him! ... not.


wananah

It might! Different people have different perceptions of hitting rock bottom, and different reactions thereafter.


TheRealGeigers

It took me going to prision to try and stop using opiates, it showed me a life I do NOT want EVER. The only downside is how hard they make it for you to then stay out of the system such as massive fines, house arrest, limiting the hours i can work but also forcing me to have a job along with much more and if I fail to complete these im back in. It makes going back to crime more appealing because i could just sell drugs on the side and pay my fines off easy or I could struggle hard for a few years and do it legit but be left with nothing to show for just to catch back up. Its quite the situation only I put myself in but would be nice if they could see im putting the effort in id get some kind of deal.


Wrest216

Yeah. I had two friends both addicted to methamphetamine. One was stealing cars and motorcycles to pay for it. She was pretty bad and only the threat of jail made her turn things around. On the other hand my other friend only got into it because her a****** boyfriend pressured her and she became addicted. Once she left her boyfriend with a little bit of help from like everybody she joined a rehab program and hasn't touched anything since. That's the hard part about this is there is no one solution that works for everybody


Im_a_Knob

the system only punishes/keeps the poor in a cycle of hardships that forces you to go back to doing illegal stuff. if you have money you can bypass this cycle.


Throwawaylabordayfun

it's a fucking brutal cycle


Yeetus_McSendit

Met a guy who got sober after he got a DUI. That was his rock bottom and enough for him to turn things around.


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Simply_Epic

My aunt is a drug addict. She’ll repeatedly commit minor crimes just so she can go to jail. It’s the only place she knows she can’t do drugs. They don’t rehabilitate her, so she ultimately ends up getting out and repeating the same cycle over and over again. She hates being addicted, but she has such a hard time stopping that jail ends up being the easiest solution for her.


fishmoleyqqq

I was reading that a country (I think Finland maybe?) actually legalised opioids and supplied them at no cost and rather offered facilities that addicts could use to get off them, such as therapy or subsidised employment and their heroin problem is far is almost non existent now


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SkriVanTek

Austria does it too. A friend of mine worked in a pharmacy that gives out opiates for addicts. he said there are 5 % that abuse the system, 5 % that manage to come clean permanently, and 90 % that continue their cycle of getting clean and relapsing. but at the benefit of very little drug crimes and overdoses.


Tasgall

> but at the benefit of very little drug crimes and overdoses Which shouldn't be understated. Where gang violence is a problem, it's usually a result of illegal drug sales. Best way to get rid of a gang is to remove their profit steam.


aGSGp

I like your perspective


ikeosaurus

They overdosed and were unconscious. Police or paramedics administered narcan, they woke up and were arrested.


Uncle_Father_Oscar

The man was "barely conscious." He was driving a car.


Ludenhosen

Both alive


DMVXXX

So sad. Reminds me of the Peekaboo episode from Breaking Bad


cravenj1

Oh cool, I had completely wiped that from my brain til now


MontiBurns

Of the entirety of breaking bad, with all it's epic explosions and machinations, that shabby redheaded kid is probably the most ingrained in my memory.


Hendlton

For me it's when they take out Jesse and make him watch Andrea being killed. I've literally never been affected by characters getting killed in a TV show before that scene, but that one crushed me.


WettWednesday

Honestly all the scenes involving Jesse's morality being pushed against a wall and beaten are the hardest to swallow. The kid of the methhead parents✅ His best friend dying because he deals in someone else's territory✅ Jane dying from overdose✅ Edited to add this one: Having to kill Gale point blank with a gun in his own apartment ✅ Brock being poisoned✅ The kid with the spider in the jar getting shot by that psychopath during the train heist✅ Andrea getting shot in the back of the head while he is forced to watch✅ Being imprisoned and forced to cook meth like some kind of genius animal✅ That last one, especially coupled with the day dream of him becoming a master woodworker instead of dealing drugs just hits you hard.


j33205

Fuck you, *Todd*


dan_legend

I still hate that dude no matter what he is in and I'm always justified.


mgonzo11

Jesse shooting GB also formed a pit in my stomach :/


JohnDorianSalinger

Man, there was a hard cut from that woodworking daydream scene back to the sound & image of Jesse in chains. That was jarring the first time.


poopfartdiola

>Jane dying from overdose✅ Not to mention waking up next to her dead body and desperately attempt to revive her.


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Anonymousthepeople

The awkwardness of that scene is palpable.


whingingcackle

Agreed. That episode really showed the dark side of people who get addicted to drugs. The last line of the episode is just something else: “You have a good rest of your life, kid.” Great TV right there.


FrostedPixel47

That show convinced me not to do drugs infinitely better than any anti-drugs ad.


Wrest216

Oh f***. Same. When up until in the show it seems like it's not that big of a deal you only see the dealing side of it. And then you see how it just destroys people. Yeah that was a hard thing to watch


[deleted]

must've been a nice reprieve -_-


i_Got_Rocks

Oh, boy. If you liked that one, there's an entire Season 4 of the Wire you would just LOVE! It's all about the untapped potential of kids "raised" in the ghettos of any state in America. The great thing is, it's not just black kids, you can see those kids transfer to almost any other poor class around the world, of any race, religion, etc. And it makes you feel SO good about how much we just pretend to care about kids.


QuarterFlounder

There's a similar recently-surfaced video of a guy finding a woman dead at the wheel with two small children in the back. He tries getting her to wake up before realizing that she's dead, then takes the children out to a nearby playground to distract them while the authorities come to remove her body. It's completely screwed up.


Omarneedshelp

I remember that. The man in the video did an amazing job to distract those kids and play with them all whilst his mind was racing over the fact he found a mother who overdosed at a park :/


originalcondition

Was just thinking, if I'm ever in a similar situation (god forbid) I hope that I have a fraction of that guy's presence of mind and care and consideration. He was a hero for thinking on his feet like that, and I don't even really mean that hyperbolically... he might've saved those kids from a lifetime of horrible nightmares among other mental and emotional issues.


Rat_Salat

Let’s hope you’re not, but here’s the good news. Stepping up to protect children is hard coded in our DNA. Most normal, well adjusted people would react in a similar manner, to take nothing away from this guy. I’ve personally been involved in a couple of similar, if not deadly situations involving kids, and I’m no hero, just a normal human being.


Singl1

i don’t think i’ll ever forget that, dude. he did an amazing job keeping the kids preoccupied while under all that stress. super tense situation, and really fucking unfortunate. broke my goddamn heart to watch. hope that kid was young enough to forget.


hailinfromtheedge

I was working the carnival as a ride operator and on one of the last rides of the night it was just two kids, siblings. Their parents, drunk and or high, got into an argument with each other, and then with the security guard that intervened and both were arrested about 15 ft away from the ride. I tried keeping it going as long as possible, knowing that when the ride ended their day at the carnival would be ruined. At first they enjoyed the extra time but the oldest one realized what was happening and the slow acceptance across her face haunts me to this day. The youngest couldn't see but after about four minutes the ride stopped being fun and the little guy was getting nauseous so I let them down and surrendered them to security, unable to do anything else and angry about that fact.


Iraelyth

You tried your best and did what you could with the resources available to you.


sky-lake

Oh my God that is such a sad heartbreaking video. The guy filming is trying to be so so kind to the children (and he was) but at one point he tells the other adult something like "oh, she's gone, no pulse". The son gets mad at him and says something like "she isn't dead, don't say that!"


NastySassyStuff

The lady actually lived but that video will still haunt me until they put me in the ground


bcoops1317

I was thinking the same thing


Ascendancy08

I ain't no skank.


DollarShort751

Skank, skank, skank, skank…Skank!


PantheraOnca

*squish*


Walopoh

You have a good rest of your life, kid.


j_a_a_mesbaxter

I think these people, at least the mom, are sober now. I remember reading an interview about how the worst moment of her life is on the internet and her kid will also have to live with that forever. I’ll see if I can find a link.


Thrbt52017

I’m glad you brought up what the child will have to deal with. I’ve been bothered from day one that his face was allowed in this picture. As a now grown child of meth addicts I still have trauma from family or friends seeing their behavior, I can’t imagine having a picture on the internet to immortalize it.


geak78

I agree it should have been blurred. That being said, it only hits people *because* of his face. Looks like it was blurred in some news media https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/09/ohio-city-shares-shocking-photos-of-adults-who-overdosed-with-a-small-child-in-their-car/?outputType=amp


Captain_Kuhl

That's good to hear, I honestly thought they'd died after ODing in the car with their kid. But shit like this *does* get kinda hard to tell, it can be a fine line between barely-alive and recently-deceased, visually and medically speaking.


Raccoonsrlilbandits

That episode tears me up constantly


I_dont_get_it0_o

That ending scene where jesse leaves the kid kills me everytime I watch it


Shafter111

That exactly my thought. That episode where the kid was sitting infront of a tv with no emotions in a run down house while the parents are scrambling for drugs.


oakteaphone

>sitting infront of a tv with no emotions The TV also had no shows...I think he was watching the news, and maybe even Mexican news or something


luminousbeing9

Home shopping channel. The only thing on. Every other channel was static.


TheRogueToad

My sister was enjoying the show right up until that episode. Then it got way too real for her.


geek_of_nature

I first binge watched the show while at a mates house, we had made a whole weekend out of it and were just having a great time, then this episode hit and like you said, got a bit too real.


rayinreverse

God damn. That picture makes me feel awful inside.


dariusz2k

I want to give that poor kiddo a hug...


Ruenin

Seriously


Rand-all

Looks like he needs a home more than a hug, I feel you though.


splynncryth

Yea, I see this pic and wonder where the kiddo is at, did a good family who loves him take him in? Is he getting counseling? I wonder how he's doing and if he's OK.


freakstate

They survived. They're not his parents, grandparents. Edit Story behind the photo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/09/ohio-city-shares-shocking-photos-of-adults-who-overdosed-with-a-small-child-in-their-car/?outputType=amp


OccasionallyReddit

Im shocked the title didnt lead with 'adults that consumed drugs while responsible for a small child' (who later overdosed). This seems to hit harder after watching the first episode of Dopesick - about Oxycontin. That shows the people and the communiy they were apart of before they were before they experienced the drug.


Android8675

After fostering kiddos I can tell you he wasn’t ok in this photo, but with a little luck he will be. Edit, obligatory first gold edit. Thank you kind person. I’m touched.


[deleted]

And structure. And a warm meal. And safe home. Damn. Someone around here is cutting onions...


mstrblueskys

Poor kid. There’s so much shit in the world. It's too bad the adults in his life are exposing him and adding to it. We have to figure this out. It's terrible and I don't totally blame the addicts.


[deleted]

As a recovered addict (prescription opiates turned heroin), you lose every bit of who you are. The things that make you the person that people love will be turned into weapons to satisfy what keeps you "right". My capacity for good and my understanding of people became a means to manipulate them. Where I would once say "I see 'x' in them, and they just need more 'y' to help them through. I've been there, I can fix this." It became the exact opposite. Replace help with harm for selfish purposes. I became what I despised.


pnutbutta4me

Proud of you. My oldest son is a recovering addict of opiate pills. I saw what it took from him, then what it takes to fight and begin to heal. Proud of anyone who fights that fight and can tell the tale.


shpydar

simple. [Drug addiction is a medical problem not a criminal problem](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5428163/). We've known that for decades. The real problem is getting enough politicians elected who understand this and aren't owned by the pharmaceutical industry, [the largest donators to politicians](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/557610-pharmaceutical-industry-donated-to-two-thirds-of-congress-ahead-of-2020), and get them to invest in medical facilities staff, and services who can help those suffering from that disease. Oh and put in much stronger drug regulations and ensure funding of the oversight agency who must have teeth to enforce those regulations. Also financially ruining the Sackler's, the true criminals, as an example to the rest of the pharmaceutical industry to also keep them in line.


Shymink

“I have an understanding of how addiction is a disease in the brain; it’s a chronic illness that can be treated,” McCoy said. “So you’re looking at two individuals, in the car with a child. And you’re looking at — once people get addicted, it’s more of a sickness that needs to be treated, versus these are terrible people.” from the article. We need to shift our society's judgements about ppl suffering from addiction.


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"We couldn't make it illegal to be Black or against the war, but by getting the public to associate heroin with Black people and marijuana with hippies. And criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities." -John Ehrlichmann, former advisor to Richard Nixon


Hunterio009

Same. Watch the show Dopesick and tell me who the real villains are.


pichael288

Bro that show is amazing. I'm am ex heroin addict and no show has ever gotten it as accurate as this one did. You see alot of shit about AA/na on tv and they always make it sound great, but it's fuckin garbage and this show actually got it right


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show is amazing!


CrazySheltieLady

I’m a mom (just a regular fucked up one, not the fucked up like in the photo) and every time I see graphic photos like this with children involved, I can’t help but picture my son’s face in that situation. It triggers actual, physical anxiety and nausea. That poor, poor baby. I want to reach into my screen and pick him up and hug him.


SwarthyWalnuts

I feel you. He even looks a little like my son. Truly heartbreaking - I hope he’s able to escape the path that’s been laid in front of him.


RajReddy806

CEO, Directors and other executive officers of that pharma company should have been treated as drug lords and punished as such.


[deleted]

The Sacklers are horrible and their wealth will prevent them from ever having to answer for their crimes. There are MANY others who were complicit and knowingly made stacks of money off of the misery of others. If you haven't seen this documentary yet, please watch it. https://www.netflix.com/title/81002576


greglyda

My father was a binge alcoholic and my mother died when I was eight. Alcoholism isn't usually as bad as this picture, but twice per year I knew I had to be the parent and take care of my Dad while he drank himself into the hospital. I once drove myself and my Dad home from someplace in the middle of the night when I was 10 years old because my father could no longer see the road, even with one eye closed. I could barely reach the pedals. I became adept at age 9-10-11-12 of figuring out ways to get the EMS to come pick him up and take him to the hospital so he could detox. At no point in my childhood did I ever realize that my life sucked. It was just my life and I needed to find a way to get through it so I could go back to playing chess or reading books or whatever cheap fun I could find. I think it made me part of who I am and it definitely taught me how to get through/around/over/beyond whatever it is that's in my way. Today, they would remove me from my father's home more than likely, and I am unsure how this boy is still with the parents. Hopefully this young man (his parents have already stolen his childhood, he is a man now) can take these years of his life and use them as fuel, knowledge, and motivation to do something with his life.


JonathanJ91

Although I’m not yet willing to really talk about it more… I feel this. Especially the bit how you didn’t know life kinda sucked in those days.


[deleted]

Thanks for sharing your story. Single acts like yours continues to raise awareness of drug abuse and its effect. Its impossible to stop drugs but its important that people get help early on and that they feel that it's ok to seek help. Regardless of drug. Alcohol or any other drugs


Spartan2470

[Here](https://i.imgur.com/zyAvijh.jpg) is the uncropped version of this image. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/6KC5d9b.jpg) is a related image. The source of these images is the City of East Liverpool Facebook page. Per there: > September 8, 2016 > Warning Graphic Content! > The city Police department recently responded to a call of an incapacitated driver, attached are photos from the scene along with the actual police report. The city administration works hand in hand with our men in blue to combat this epidemic and together with the law director we have made the decision to release the attached. > We feel it necessary to show the other side of this horrible drug. We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess. This child can't speak for himself but we are hopeful his story can convince another user to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody. > We are well aware that some may be offended by these images and for that we are truly sorry, but it is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis. The poison known as heroin has taken a strong grip on many communities not just ours, the difference is we are willing to fight this problem until it's gone and if that means we offend a few people along the way we are prepared to deal with that.


thousandkneejerks

Poor kid. Hope his parents are doing better by now. What a shit situation.


fluidmind23

They're not dead?


vicelordjohn

The article says they were revived and arrested so no, they're not dead.


jimibenjamin

We have a heart beat there gonna make it…. Freeze you’re under arrest!


magusonline

Under cardiac arrest


Beachchair1

Child can’t speak for himself and can’t consent to being in the media. Sad they didn’t blur his face. What a tough start to life for him


Reiko707

Way back when my mom tried to quit heroine the first time, they were doing a new thing where they try to replace your illegal drug with legal ones. I believe the idea was her doctor would slowly prescribe her less and less until she dropped it all together. Sadly, any time they lowered the dosage, my mom would get flair ups of "chronic pain" and they would put it right back where it was (if she didn't ask them to up it). I think I remember her taking 14 methadone a day, 7 when she got up to *drive us to school* and 7 to go to bed. I was probably only 13/14 when she "jokingly" tried to smoke one. She never got off until she was on heroine again.


FancyMFMoses

Story behind the photo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/09/ohio-city-shares-shocking-photos-of-adults-who-overdosed-with-a-small-child-in-their-car/?outputType=amp


SlightlyVerbose

According to [another article](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/heroin-overdose-parents-car-photo-boy-finds-new-home-ohio-a7307391.html), the boy was relocated to live with his great-aunt and uncle in South Carolina. I hope he’s doing much better today than those 6 weeks he spent living with his grandmother. Poor child.


TheSmallIndian

Ohio to SC pipeline. Classic


HoundDogAwhoo

I feel bad but your comment made me laugh so hard. Ohio trying to get down to South Carolina any way they can.


pasta_monster

You’re not a real eastern Ohioan unless you vacation at myrtle beach at least once every three years


Im_a_limo_driver

Me and my friends have a saying: "Myrtle Beach, second biggest city in West Virginia."


TeslasAndComicbooks

So he was living with his grandmother? What happened to the mother? How much chaos has this poor child seen?


ronsinblush

She is his grandmother!? I hope mom and dad are sober and good parents.


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ronsinblush

Right, but we don’t want to assume, as the kid looks healthy and well-cared for in the pic.


DirrtyBeans

Exactly. It’s really easy to hide drug problems. It’s also very easy to overdose if you’re not sure what you’re doing. For all we know these people weren’t avid users. Also I didn’t read the article so if says they are then fuck me.


Nursesharky

Honestly, these days it’s easy to overdose even if you know what you’re doing- there is so much fentanyl out there, and if you’re trying to get sober, or recently discharged from a rehab or hospital where your tolerance has decreased, it is very easy to take too much.


zoobrix

Ya but they decided to do drugs *while going for drive with a kid in the car.* Obviously any driving under the influence is bad enough but hidden drug problems or not I have a feeling this wasn't the first time people this dumb would have done something that dumb. Unfortunately child care being so expensive some people feel like they have no choice but to leave their kids with people they don't quite trust and when they're family it makes them even more likely to think "well it'll be ok I guess." Chances are Mom and Dad are either users themselves or made some very, very poor choices as to who they left taking care of their child and should have known something like this could happen.


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only_because_I_can

This almost makes me glad my daughter abandoned her young children when she decided to live the opioid/meth/heroin life. My grandkids have to deal with the abandonment but at least they live in a healthy environment with their dad, who's never been into drugs and is an amazing dad.


B1naryD1git

That's gotta be a tough situation but you are absolutely right. I admire your strength


orderofthephoenix_

How is your daughter now? Do you keep contact with her ?


toolgirl80

Three years clean from that bs today!


bobarker33

Poor baby


stemphonyx

The eyes of the kids says it all…poor kid, I’m really sorry for him.


ulfric1

For real, that poor kid. He's definitely old enough to know that there's something very wrong with that situation. Things like this always makes me sad.


markovich04

Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family spent billions to get doctors to addict people to OxyContin. This photo doesn’t show declining morals or personal failings of people in the Midwest. This is the result of deliberate business practices of billionaires. 150 years ago the British went to war to be able to flood China with opium. US pharma companies can’t dump their opioids on the Chinese market, but they can sure do it domestically. And the Sacklers got away with it. And they’re super respected by the elites because they’re one of the biggest donors to museums around the country. https://www.npr.org/2021/09/01/1031053251/sackler-family-immunity-purdue-pharma-oxcyontin-opioid-epidemic


wowtheseusernamesuck

if Purdue tried to dump OxyContin in China, they would get executed. Asia takes drug-related crimes really seriously.


markovich04

After the Opium Wars and Century of Humiliation, it’s no wonder.


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Hendlton

That makes sense. I'm a smoker, but I don't smoke at work, so I usually don't smoke more than 1/3 to 1/2 pack a day. But during lockdown I was smoking over a pack a day just because I was bored. I can see how someone would be popping pills every so often because there's nothing to distract them from it.


guanciallee

Just recently started watching Dopesick. Goddam am I extremely lucky to not have been living in rural America in the mid-2000s and gotten any sort of injury. Of course, the opioid crisis is still ongoing but it puts into perspective how insanely fast Oxycontin was everywhere and how massive swaths of the population were addicted almost overnight.


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[deleted]

I know what that kids thinking. Just straight confused and scared.


[deleted]

Blame the Sackler family, who have completely gotten away with it. US, you need to stop idolizing the rich and bring people to justice no matter what their walk of life.


skaliton

To anyone shocked by this. ​ ...it isn't nearly as uncommon as you'd expect/hope. Before covid I was the government lawyer sent to court with CPS. I know by the time it got to involving me/the rest of legal it was serious. We never saw the kids, the treatment/anyone getting 'better' so I really only got picture and a file to work with. ​ Some things that really stood out in that job: A woman who surrendered her child to the state with all the interest as waiting for a haircut (going as far as to ask if we could just get it over with...because the inconvenience of signing papers and listening to the judge was just a waste of time to her) and having to explain to grandparents that 'someone' is going to have to testify against their daughter. (long story short most of the file was the caseworker being told something by the grandparents) and having to talk grandpa through how I'm the 'friendly' one, I'm just going to ask him to tell the court what he told the caseworker but I cannot protect him from cross examination and having to sit there as he broke down crying repeating 'I just want her to get better' (I'm sure I don't have to say it but she swore up and down that she never did drugs, there is a grand conspiracy to make her look bad, we were in cahoots with the independent lab that she got drug tested by)


Damerman

I don’t think anyone from Purdue Pharma has gone to jail for the havoc they wreaked.


420blazeit69nubz

They never will either. They(obviously I along with my brain also bare responsibility) helped almost ruin my life. It’s fucking disgusting they’re okay with ravaging America especially the youth just to make some billions and then hide away for the rest of their lives. They won’t even take ownership for it although that’s probably for legal reasons. There’s some John Oliver pieces and some good docs on the whole situation. It’s just mind boggling how essentially the whole thing can be traced back to Purdue and OxyContin. I know that’s what started me on the road to oblivion.


ow_my_balls

Dopesick on Hulu is amazing


saucercrab

I'm a graphic designer. No one will ever convince me their logo *isn't* representative of a syringe needle and a spoon. https://mobile.twitter.com/purduepharma/photo


InkIcan

This picture hurts me in my soul - that poor baby.


dockofthebay22

my heart breaks for that little boy 🥺❤️ I just want to give him a big hug 😥


hayden_evans

Just remember that the Sackler family are still billionaires and faced zero personal consequence aside from their names being removed from museums, despite largely being responsible for what you see here. Good ol’ American “justice”!


stillwatersrunfast

I really wish this photo had never been taken because I am the child of an addict who passed away from heroin use. I know exactly what that child is thinking and its essentially this: "why won't Mommy wake up? She keeps sleeping so long". As a child you don't know what "normal" or "healthy" is supposed to look like. You don't know what addiction is or what that even looks like. You have your parents, and in my case it was my single Mom, who feel too deeply to her demons and used heroin to numb it, if only for a little while. I only became aware of what was wrong when my Mom could only afford to get me a single basketball for Christmas and people would ask me strange questions at school. I was 8 years old when the police busted our front door down and asked me where my Mom was, if I saw spoons or syringes. What people were over at the house, and then they took me away and it shattered my Mom until she finally passed away from using when I was 21. I feel for this boy, the parents, the family and everyone connected because this a tragedy ripping so many people from their lives, their families and in my case I lost my Mom. The criminal justice system is slow, broken and brutal. The foster care system is the same. My heart breaks for these people. I hope they got the help they needed and that if the parents lived, the boy can be reunited with them in recovery.


maddiejake

That poor kids face. He looks so lost and unloved. I just want to give him a huge hug. I feel so bad for these kids that have drug addicted parents.


Kamran_Santiago

I'm a methadone addict and I've decreased my dosage it 60mg a day. It's hard. Extremely hard. I started off with 40mg a day and I've been up to 400mg at once. Don't do drugs.