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Adfam/DDN conference |
Families First
December 2013 |
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hospital. The next day she was transferred to a psychiatric unit and the
consultant explained to me that her heroin addiction was just a symptom and not
the cause of her problems. Until her bipolar illness was properly treated and
controlled, she would continue to self-medicate on heroin.
This was a first! To have the focus shifted from the drugs to her bipolar totally
changed how she viewed her situation. Instead of being labelled as ‘just another
junkie’, she felt her illness was at last being taken seriously. Her whole
demeanour changed and became more positive; she began to believe she could
really get well again.
For me, it meant I no longer had to fight the system to get help – it was being
offered willingly and without any conditions. I was able to leave her in France,
knowing that she was getting joined-up care and support for her complex problems.
Seven months on, Hannah is still receiving excellent outpatient treatment and
psychiatric support. She has just been over for a two-week visit and the progress
in her recovery is encouraging. She no longer has cravings and is a lot calmer.
Her ability to deal with normal everyday issues has improved dramatically and
she is starting to look ahead and plan a future.
My journey alongside Hannah in the past ten years has motivated me to try
to seek better understanding and treatment for those who use drugs. I want
people to know and really understand the cause of drug addiction and not be
misled by the sensationalist articles pedalled by the popular press.
It breaks my heart and also makes me angry to see my daughter being treated
as a criminal. When she is in the grip of her addiction she can become a monster
and do things that even I find hard to accept and condone. But underneath I know
there is a vulnerable damaged woman who struggles to cope with life and uses
the drugs to escape from her problems.
When clean, Hannah is a kind, thoughtful and vibrant daughter who deserves to
have a happy and fulfilling life. One day I hope she will finally achieve that. Until she
does, I will continue to shout as loudly as I can to tell people the truth about heroin
addiction. Ultimately I hope we can change misguided assumptions and get a
majority to understand that people like Hannah need help, not punishment.
Only then, when we have significant numbers of people behind us calling for
a change in current drug laws and policies, will we persuade politicians to be
brave enough to implement the changes needed and provide the joined-up care
and treatment people like my daughter really need.
Jason Gough recalls realising the impact
he was having on his family
While I was in active addiction I didn’t understand the full impact of it on my
family. Dad used to say ‘if you want to see our front room, go to cash
converters – it’s all in there.’
It was only later that I realised I’d made our home an unsafe place. My
family became frightened of me. I was oblivious to this; I thought at the time
that I was the one who was suffering. I imagined I was protecting them in
some way. When I was relapsing I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to spoil the
joy of ‘Jason’s getting better’.
In the early days it was all about escaping and nothing about my family.
One day I clicked on a YouTube clip of the effect of drugs on a family and
realised the impact. Hearing what someone else said had a huge effect on me.
I left Sheffield that day, went to my mum, and told her I was sorry, that I loved
her. I began the process of looking at my parents as individuals with their own
hopes and desires, not just people there to serve Jason.
I realised how my addiction had affected them – it felt like losing a limb. I
could recover from it, but life would never be the same. It was extremely
difficult, realising the effect on my family. Without their support I could never
have got into recovery. Without their help I never would have made it.
My father and mum dealt with me differently. My mum could cut herself
off, but my father was always there and visited me in prison. He passed away
while I was in rehab and never saw me get a job.
So I say to families, please share your story. Tell as many people as possible.
Commissioners have to put families first.
TOUGH LESSON
‘WE NEED FAMILY MEMBERS OUT THERE ADVOCATING
NALOXONE,’
said drugs trainer Nigel Brunsdon,
leading a workshop about this life-saving intervention.
Who better to put pressure on commissioners than
families, daughters, sons, mothers and fathers, he
asked. ‘We should be demanding naloxone. It shows
we care. We care if someone lives or dies.’
‘The more people that are trained, the more
people can train,’ said Dr Judith Yates, a GP in
Birmingham. ‘It should not be one and a half hour
sessions, it should be normalised, part of life – not
made an occasion.’
With an (award winning) video of his daughter
demonstrating saving her teddy bear from an
overdose (pictured), Brunsdon showed how
administering naloxone correctly was ‘child’s play’.
‘As long as it is injected into the thigh muscle it’s
fine – you cannot overdose from naloxone,’ he
reassured participants concerned about lack of
knowledge. It was important to get naloxone into
families with drug-using children or parents, he
stressed.
For more advice and the naloxone film, visit
www.injectingadvice.com
‘I say to families,
please share your
story. Tell as many
people as possible...’
JASON GOUGH
WE SHOULD BE DEMANDING NALOXONE