Saturday, March 28, 2015 4:30:49 PM
By Adrianne Simeone Posted Mar. 28, 2015 at 7:12 AM Updated at 7:54 AM
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Paula Gilligan, of Burlington, leaves her son Ryan's grave at the Pine Haven Cemetery Tuesday morning. He died of a heroin overdose on Feb. 10, 2012 at the age of 21. Wicked Local Staff Photo/Ann Ringwood
Christopher Oates was a Burlington High School Class of 2005 graduate who died of a heroin overdose Oct. 29, 2005.
He was the captain of the high school’s football and wrestling teams, likeable and popular with his classmates. His lifelong dream was to serve in the Marines.
In a 2005 NPR interview, his mother Cheryl Oates said it all began with a prescription for Percocet, an opioid painkiller that Christopher was prescribed by a doctor to treat a football injury.
Christopher then went on to use Oxycontin recreationally and then heroin.
At that time, many Burlington residents may have thought this tragic loss was an anomaly. It wasn’t. Two mothers in Burlington that belong to a support group called “The Addict's Mom” have offered to share their stories in the hope of reaching out to other parents who, much like them, never thought their children would battle an addiction to heroin.
Ryan: 1990-2012
Ryan, the only boy out of the three Gilligan children, was happy and enjoyed playing sports of all kinds. From the football field to the basketball court to the wrestling mat, he was an active and fun-loving child.
But in middle school, his mother Paula noticed a change in his behavior. He seemed to struggle with his sense of self-esteem and seemed pressured to fit in. This may all seem typical for children his age, but for Ryan and his friends, the introduction of marijuana and then opioids like Percocet sent him into a downward spiral that neither he nor his parents could prepare themselves for.
Paula set to work as a team with his friends' parents to stay on top of their children's activities and communicate any signs of drug use or suspicious behavior. Wanting to be as proactive as possible, she entered her son and herself into counseling, hopeful that this was just a challenging phase of parenting a teenage boy. The young boy that once seemed so full of life was lacking motivation to complete his schoolwork, and nearly failed to graduate from Burlington High School in 2009.
After graduation, Ryan worked various jobs, but often called in sick or missed work from sleeping too late. No one quite knew how to get through to him, and like many young adults, Ryan didn't want to be told how to live his life.
One day, Paula unexpectedly came home early from work. Ryan was at home at the time, standing on the back deck with a friend. When she walked by Ryan’s bedroom, she saw a syringe and a spoon. At that moment, when Paula realized her son was injecting himself with heroin, she said, "It was biggest slap in the face ever."
'Andy': Still Struggling
In another home in Burlington, "Kathy" (not her real name), noticed her 17-year-old son "Andy" (not his real name) was becoming increasingly depressed. Although he struggled with a nervous system disorder, he had friends and was very active. Kathy had recently separated from Andy's father, and began working nights.
Andy was a sensitive child who loved animals, excelled at sports and was praised for his work ethic, but Kathy noticed that he was growing increasingly withdrawn. She reached out and he reluctantly opened up that he had been at a party over the summer and suspected an unknown substance was slipped into his drink. He didn't remember what happened, but had been dumped out on his family's front yard during the middle of the night, unconscious.
Andy struggled to think clearly and function normally since the incident. Despite seeking help from their pediatrician, nothing could be determined as the cause. Regardless, he felt violated and helpless.
Andy’s depression continued, yet he graduated high school and went on to college. However, one day Kathy received a call from one of his friend's parents, who told her, “It had been going around that he was using heroin.”
Andy, who could normally be trusted with money left out on the counter at home, had been shoplifting to feed his addiction. But he was a legal adult, and Kathy couldn't force him into rehab.
It wasn't until he was in a car accident that she was able to file a Section 35, which according to Massachusetts law "permits the courts to involuntarily commit someone whose alcohol or drug use puts themselves or others at risk. Such a commitment can lead to an inpatient substance abuse treatment for a period of up to 90 days."
Powerful Addiction
Opioids are painkillers derived from opium. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, when released into the bloodstream, they travel to the nervous system and bind to “opioid receptors” in the brain -- blocking pain, slowing down the respiratory system and creating a sense of calm.
Morphine, hydrocodone, methadone, oxycodone and heroin are all types of opioids -- heroin being the only illegal substance. Opioid drugs are sold under more commonly known brand names such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Percodan, Tylox and Demerol.
With continued use, the neuroreceptors in the brain start to crave the opioids and tell the nervous system that it is feeling pain and discomfort when it does not receive them, resulting in withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, pain, insomnia, chills, sweating, anxiety and diarrhea. In addition, the body develops a tolerance, requiring increases in dosage to provide the same effect as before. When taking such pills becomes a behavioral compulsion, without concern for physical or social health, it is considered an addiction.
While prescription painkillers can be obtained on the street, the cost is upwards of $60 to $80 a pill, according to the website www.drugfree.org. Heroin can cost as little as $5 a hit.
According to both Paula and Kathy, at times they have felt shame and feared judgment from those in the community who believe only bad people or bad parents could have a child that would abuse heroin.
Paula believes more could and should be done to educate middle school and high school students, as well as parents, about the dangers of opioids and heroin. Teens may underestimate the addictive powers of popping pills and fall into the trap of trying to afford a drug that only tightens its grip the more they use it. Parents may not even realize how prevalent and accessible these drugs are and how devastating addiction can be.
No Cure
Treatment facilities, Paula and Kathy would both learn, are not a cure. Both Ryan and Andy would enter and leave rehab, only to relapse back into drug addiction.
Due to lack of funding and available support for drug addiction, treatment centers cannot keep up with the demand, and addicts who are willing to go must be able to spend upwards of $3,000 for a three- to five-day detox and another $5,000 for a 30-day inpatient stay.
Ryan's family struggled along with him during his addiction. Paula described watching her son go through the withdrawal process -- sweating, aching bones, shaking and inability to sleep or eat. It seemed like there were two people -- Ryan the boy they had always loved, and Ryan the addict who would pawn all his mother's jewelry and steal from his grandparents after selling all of his own valuable possessions.
Ryan still loved his family, Paula said, but the heroin had a hold over him that they could not compete with.
Heroin addiction, Kathy said, is a cancer in society. There is no cure, only treatment and dormant periods, but, “You're always on edge for when it may attack again, a relapse,” she said.
So far, Kathy and her husband have spent more than $30,000 in court and treatment costs. Andy has been doing well at the most recent treatment center, and is currently 60-days clean.
Kathy said she can't help but hear the sound of an ambulance go by her work, her phone ring or a knock on the door and worry that it's about Andy. The unspoken question that shadows over those in The Addict's Mom group, said Kathy, is "Whose child is going to die next?"
Ryan was doing well for a while. Despite having only been on heroin for a year, after his last release from treatment he had been clean for about a month.
It was Feb. 10, 2012 when Paula heard from Ryan’s girlfriend, who said she couldn't get him to return her calls. She texted his friends, who said they hadn't heard from him either.
Ryan wasn't at home when Paula arrived after finishing work. She drove over to her parents' house that was vacant while they were away and there discovered her only son, at the age of 21, dead on the kitchen floor.
"Numb" is the only word to describe how she felt at that moment, she said. In that empty house, alone with her son, she cradled him in her arms for the last time.
TRUTH
I've never claimed to have all the answers but feel i'm beginning to corner the market in questions worthy of them.
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