MAY 26, 2017 | THELEAVEN.ORG
LOCAL NEWS
RACE AGAINST ADDICTION
Arrowhead 5K raises awareness, fights stigma of opioid abuse By Jill Ragar Esfeld jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
P
RAIRIE VILLAGE — Imagine having a child with cancer, diabetes or heart disease and not knowing the protocol to deal with it. Not having a single resource to help you. That’s the situation faced by St. Ann, Prairie Village, parishioner Gary Henson when his son Garrett struggled with drug addiction. He knew Garrett needed a rehabilitation program. But which one? “I didn’t know where to go,” said Henson. “I didn’t know what to do. I talked to friends of mine that were therapists. But I didn’t have anywhere else to go. “There are protocols and best practices for every disease in this country except for addiction.”
A national crisis Addiction is recognized by the American Medical Association as a brain disease called substance-use disorder. And the statistics defining it are shocking. With 52,000 fatalities a year, drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. Driven by prescription opioid pain relievers, it is a national crisis that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has labeled epidemic. “Opioid is prescribed by a doctor,” said Henson, who is on the board of Shatterproof, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the crisis. “That makes people think it’s safer, more acceptable. “What people don’t understand is it’s like having heroin on your shelf.” The reality faced by those suffering from the substance-use disorder is heartbreaking. The stigma attached to the disease makes support and quality treatment information almost impossible to find.
Shatterproof’s Rise Up Against Addiction 5K June 11 Arrowhead Stadium
Shatterproof is having five walks/runs across the country, with Kansas City being the first. Area businesses, health care groups and those in the recovery community are getting behind the event. Consider forming a team of family members, co-workers and friends. Proceeds will go to support Shatterproof’s advocacy work, treatment work and the online resource center. Get involved now by visiting the website at: www.shatterproof.org/ rise-against-addiction-5k-runwalk.
Lauren Heyen, whose daughter was a close friend of Garrett’s, witnessed his family’s struggle to find reliable help. “This truly is an illness,” said Heyen, who also belongs to St. Ann. “It’s not a weakness or failure on anybody’s part. “It should not be that hard for somebody to find help, especially when the crisis is this big.” Garrett participated in rehab programs in Colorado and was drugfree for nine months. But one week after his treatment was completed, he died of an opioid overdose. He was 20 years old.
A father’s response Garrett’s relapse was true to a deadly pattern that has taken the lives of many before him. “They have what they call a relapse party,” said Henson. “And it’s typical — but I didn’t understand that it was typical. “The guys at the rehab didn’t tell me about that. Because of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws, they don’t have a lot of conversation with the parents. “If I’d known that, I probably would have camped out in Colorado and stayed with him.” Henson felt not only the pain of losing his child — but also the frustration of knowing he never had enough support and information to adequately help him. He didn’t want another parent to go through that experience. Through an advised fund set up by Henson’s company, donations were collected after Garrett’s death. “It quickly grew to a considerable amount of money,” said Henson. “And I felt like I had a fiduciary obligation to use the money in the best manner.”
Statistics on opioid abuse Henson took a six-month sabbatical to study the substance-use disorder crisis and that’s when he discovered Shatterproof — a national organization founded by Gary Mendell, who lost his son to addiction in 2011. Shatterproof was in the process of doing exactly what Henson dreamed of — working to end the stigma attached to addiction and provide evidence-based resources to support prevention, treatment and recovery. Shatterproof was also advocating for federal and state policy changes such a nationwide prescription drug monitoring program and wider access to Naloxone, a lifesaving overdose-reversal drug. “So I called [Mendell] and we had a great conversation,” said Henson. “And I told him I wanted to collapse my foundation into his.” After a visit to Shatterproof headquarters in New York, Henson joined the board of directors.
A strengthened faith Through the experience of losing his child and finding, in the wake of that grief, a path to help others, Henson said his faith has been strengthened. “Which is the opposite of what most people would guess,” he said. “Here’s the reason: There were multiple signs after Garrett passed away that he was OK.” “They were very clear,” continued Henson, “and there was no possible way they could have happened without some divine intervention.” >> See “ONLINE” on page 5
On an average day in the United States: • More than 650,000 opioid prescriptions dispensed • 3,900 people initiate nonmedical use of prescription opioids • 580 people initiate heroin use • 78 people die from an opioidrelated overdose Economic impact of the opioid epidemic each year • $55 billion in health and social costs related to prescription opioid abuse • $20 billion in emergency department and inpatient care for opioid poisonings SOURCE: U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Facts and figures • Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illicit drug heroin as well as the licit prescription pain relievers oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl and others. • Opioids are chemically related and interact with opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain and nervous system to produce pleasurable effects and relieve pain. • Addiction is a primary, chronic and relapsing brain disease characterized by an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors. • Of the 20.5 million Americans 12 or older that had a substanceuse disorder in 2015, 2 million had a substance-use disorder involving prescription pain relievers and 591,000 had a substance use disorder involving heroin. SOURCE: THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ADDICTION MEDICINE
16