I think there would be a huge reduction in the preventable injury rate and in a recent post I shared that we are spending $26 billion dollars a year in preventable injury costs in Canada alone!
That’s a lot of money that could be put to better use!
Lately there has been a lot of media coverage of the rampant use of Fentanyl at music festivals and other typical outdoor events that take place over the summer months. “Greenies”, as they’re known, are 40 times more toxic than heroin and up to 100 times more toxic than morphine. These little pills can have tragic consequences with some users being left with a life altering brain injury.
In the city I live in, Calgary, the greenie has claimed 45 lives this year. That is 45 too many!
Despite law enforcement stepping in to try and curb the illegal distribution of this illicit drug, and the repeated warnings from health officials, the level of abuse continues to rise at an alarming rate. And it’s not just a problem in the city I live in; this little pill is leaving a devastating path of destruction across all of North America.
A recent article in Huffington Post tore at my heartstrings as a father shared how his 18 year old son consumed Fentanyl at a party last month.
He is now facing a long road ahead of him with brain injury rehabilitation.
As you know, I am a strong advocate of brain injury prevention and I recently went on a media campaign speaking to the importance of playing it safe when it comes to riding ATV’s. This is how I sustained my brain injury.
Today I want to bring greater awareness to other ways that a brain injury can occur, aside from the most common ways that most of you are familiar with (i.e. falls, stroke, motor vehicle accidents, etc.). You will be surprised at what you’re about to read.
As a volunteer at two brain injury rehabilitation centers, and in the many interactions I have had with survivors, people with a brain injury come from all walks of life. While some causes are medically related (i.e. aneurysm, stroke, tumor, blood clots, etc.) there are many other not so common ways you can sustain a brain injury. Below are just a few examples from people I have spoken to:
– Attempted suicide
– Illegal drug use
– Sleep walking, which may led to a subsequent fall down a flight of stairs
– Horses – being struck by the leg of a horse or thrown off of one
– Lack of oxygen after being submerged under water after tumbling off a dock
– An electric shock after adjusting a few live wires (not realizing they were live)
– Domestic abuse (women and children)
Often times, when you hear a story about an injury or death, your natural response may be to think “Well, it could never happen to me as he/she was….” (insert rationalization here). Possible rationalizations may include “living a high-risk lifestyle,” or “they’re obviously not too safety conscious” or “they should have reached out for help to for their depression or to get away from an abusive relationship.” These thoughts can give you a false sense of security, one that may monetarily give you a feeling of peace.
These thoughts do not protect you from never being injured and/or succumbing to death from an injury though.
I am well familiar with this mindset as it’s one I had when I made the decision to ride on an ATV without a helmet. Yes, I was one of those people who felt it’ll never happen to me, right up until the moment when it did happen. And it was then too late to do anything about it.
Like other brain injury survivors, I then found myself immersed in trying to learn everything I could about one.
When people are making the choice to use Fentanyl in a social setting, I wonder how different things might be if we choose to look at this from a different lens, by looking at the root problem versus just focusing on the number of occurrences?
While I’m very grateful the police force is stepping in to try and put a dent in the illegal trade activity and yes, fully agree warnings from health officials and stories such as Reg Hampton’s help in bringing greater awareness, it leaves many unanswered questions in my mind. What is missing in some people’s lives that is making them want to swallow a greenie? Peer pressure? Stress? Feeling a lack of family support? Wanting to fit in? Or, is it a desire to be part of the in crowd, even if just for a fleeting moment?
Illegal drug use is a preventable injury and it’s my biggest fear that the trend will continue to rise until we figure out what is driving this behaviour. Let’s not lay blame against anyone for a decision they have made that has led to a brain injury or death in some cases. Instead, let’s rise above that and look for ways we can all be part of the solution helping to reverse the trend.
It starts with awareness followed by action. What steps are you prepared to take to help in reversing this trend?
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