Davidson County Stories

April 

I have been in recovery from opioid addiction nearly four years and 3 months now. I overdosed in front of my children and in doing so discovered my son found a pill on the ground and subsequently took it. I lost everything to my addiction, but with the grace of my God and a strong 12-step program here I am! I have custody of my children back, I live in a recovery program with my three children who are still underage and husband who is also in recovery, I have a strong relationship with my two children that are grown. Additionally, I am a certified peer recovery specialist, I also am currently working towards my LAADAC. Recovery from opioids is possible. 

Tyler

I am an Emergency Medicine physician, Vice President of the Nashville Youth Hockey League, and a caring parent of a teenage travel hockey player. After reading an article regarding youth sports and drug use, I partnered with some colleagues to create a youth-sports focused presentation about the dangers of prescription and recreational opioid use.

According to an article I read about youth sports and drug use, youth hockey players are considerably more likely to use opioids than other youth athletes. USA Hockey is passionate about encouraging wellness among youth athletes via its SafeSport program. I shared the information from the article with the organization and asked to include education on opioids. To date, my colleagues and I have conducted seven presentations for approximately 200 youth hockey players, middle schoolers, and their parents. Additional education sessions are scheduled throughout the year both to local sports organizations and schools. In addition, we have been asked to draft an article for a national youth hockey magazine about the dangers of opioids and other prescription medications.