Overdose reality: Awareness vigil gives some comfort
Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer
A flag, a loved one whose life was snuffed out by addiction. Solemnly, friends and family placed more than three-dozen custom-made flags in the earth, on the lawn behind the Lakes Region Recovery Center in Bridgton.
Haley Wormwood was 32 years old when she overdosed.
Her story did not end up in the obituary pages. She was revived — thanks to six shots of Narcan — and lived to share her tale.
Unfortunately, two of her friends died from an overdose. Joshua Sande died in March 2005 and Rich Johnson passed away from an overdose in 2007, she said.
Haley Wormwood was among the people placing memorial flags in the ground on Saturday, which was International Overdose Awareness Day.
“The reason I’m standing here today, giving this speech means I am no longer suffering from the disease of addiction,” said Wormwood, who marked five years sober on June 14.
“I am proud to say I’m a survivor, an addict in recovery. This group has given me a place to be open and honest and to help others find their way out of the dark,” she said.
“But, today we would like to honor those who do not have the opportunity to stand here like I am and share their story,” she said.
Recovery center celebrates 1 year with public
By Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer
A year ago, there was a void in a community that was seeing a considerable rise in overdoses from opioids. Then, a small group of community members got together with Catherine Clough-Bell of Crooked River Counseling and wrote a grant to put together the funding for a recovery center.
Now, there is fulfillment — a sense of belonging for those struggling with addiction and for those former addicts who have embarked on the journey of helping others.
Now, the center’s calendar is filled with meetings: Alcoholic Anonymous meetings at noon on Sundays, Narcotic Anonymous meetings throughout the week, and creative writing classes that help facilitate recovery. The center is a safe, nonjudgmental environment for addicts, and where the family members of addicts can go for sup-port, according to LRRC Communication Specialist Micki Bless.
On Friday, the Lakes Region Recovery Center (LRRC) will celebrate its one-year anniversary. There will be an open house from noon to 5 p.m., on Friday at the center, 25 Hospital Road, Bridgton. The one-year celebration is open to those in recovery and to those supporting others in recovery, as well as people who are curious about the center. Essentially, the public is invited.
According to Bless, the center and its staff and volunteers have a positive foothold in the community. The center pro-vides outreach. “Anyone who goes to the Emergency Room for a substance abuse related reason, the hospital staff ask them if they want someone to talk about recovery in general,” Bless said. “We sit with them and talk with them to see if they want help,” she said.
The hospital patient can learn about appropriate resources in the community.
“We introduce ourselves and let them know we are here for support,” she said. The recovery center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., has numerous meetings and classes. “We provide AA, NA, support for families of an addict. We have parenting classes, Reiki, yoga. We have a creative writing group,” she said. A new class is called “Alternatives to suicide.” “We have alternatives to suicide — it’s a support group for those who have suicidal thoughts or struggle with thoughts of suicide. They can speak in an open group without the fear of someone calling and having them locked up,” Bless said.
Then, there are traditional support groups to help people deal with the death of someone from a drug overdose. “We have grief groups support groups to help with loss and transition,” Bless said.
This past Saturday, the center held a vigil for International Overdose Awareness Day. Haley Wormwood, one of the people who spoke, said the center was a godsend. She said there were no resources or Narcotic Anonymous (NA) groups in her area.
“With a center like this available, it has the opportunity to save lives,” Wormwood said.
“It’s a constant struggle to help treat people with addiction. Without insurance, local support groups and resources, it’s extremely difficult to get the help you need to get sober,” she said. “I’m very grateful,” she said.
The Lakes Region Recovery Center is physically located at 25 Hospital Road. When driving into the Bridgton Hospital parking lot, the center’s entrance is behind all the buildings and to the far left. It is near United Ambulance.
The website is https://www.lrrcbridgton.org The weekly schedule of meetings can be found on the website. Special events are listed on the Facebook page for the Lakes Region Recovery Center. The phone number is 803-8707.
“Addiction can happen to anyone. Addiction doesn’t discriminate against gender or age or race. And we are here to honor the fight that so many of our loved ones have lost,” she said.
Wormwood told her story at the Lakes Region Recovery Center on Saturday as part of a vigil during International Overdose Awareness Day. She was one of the guest speakers at the remembrance ceremony, which entailed prayers, speakers sharing their stories, a moment of meditation and the planting of memorial flags in an area outdoors.
“International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on Aug. 31 each year, and aims to raise awareness of overdose and to reduce the stigma of drug-related death,” according to the official website.
“It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of a drug overdose,” the website said.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which has data as current as 2017, in the United States, there were 700,000 deaths by overdose in 2017. About two-thirds (67.8%) of those overdoses were from opioids. The CDC data shows that the opioid overdose increased by 9.6% from 2017 to 2016.
In 2017, Maine was listed among the top ten states for deaths from opioid overdose. In Maine, there were 360 overdose deaths involving opioids in 2017. That correlates to 29.9 deaths out of every 100,000 people, which is higher than the national average.
Those community members impacted by opioid abuse and opioid overdose know the epidemic firsthand.
One father said he found comfort in telling the story of his son’s overdose.
“It’s a blessing to speak to other people. He (his son) didn’t want to be an addict,” said the man who wished to remain anonymous.
On Saturday, speakers talked about the stigma of drug addiction. In order to move toward a solution, the public awareness must take place — shifting from blame to understanding.
“We have to create awareness and to help people drop the stigma of people who use,” according to Pastor Mike Zullo, of the Bridgton Alliance Church.
Micki Bless is the communication specialist with the Lakes Region Recovery Center.
“Stigma is the belief that being an addict is a moral choice, that addicts are bad people,” Bless said.
“Addiction is a disease. It is not a choice,” she said.
The people who spoke during the vigil talked about the personal impact that addiction has had on their lives.
“I am a survivor of drug overdose,” Wormwood said, beginning her story.
“I was an addict for 17 years of my life. When I was 32-years-old I was arrested and spent 66 days in jails. It took me about five weeks of detoxing there before I finally felt sober again. Being sober after 17 years was incredible. I never thought I could feel that way ever again,” she said.
“But the second I got out, I wanted to get high again,” she said. “I knew I was going to rehab in four days and I needed to feel that high just one more time. I was awake for three nights straight and I don’t do any more drugs than I normally did but being sober had changed my tolerance.”
“I didn’t know that going back to the same routine, a routine that I had maintained for half of my life could kill me. I overdosed shortly after,” she said.
Narcan saved her life and she spent the night in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) before being admitted into a rehabilitation center. However, the difficult journey was finding the resources to stay sober such as a prescription for Suboxen, the drug that helps people transition from street drugs. Unfortunately, “There are millions of people out there with their own stories, their own experiences,” she said.
Pastor Mike Zullo’s experiences as an addict have shaped his unique viewpoint. He said he does not judge or wag his finger at people who are in the throes of addiction because he has been there.
He started out partying with his older brothers and ended up forging prescriptions to keep up his habit.
“My own brother was murdered and my friends were dropping like flies but nothing could make me stop,” he said, adding he hoped he would get thrown in jail so he could be separated from the drugs he was using.
His wish came true. With a court date pending, he withdrew from painkillers cold turkey. His wife had flushed the pills down the toilet. He suffered through the body shakes and vomiting.
“That was the most miserable three to four days of my life. I was in the shower and I wanted to die. I said a prayer. I asked God to show up or I would die. He did. Instantly, everything changed. My body was healed; my spirit was renewed; my energy was renewed,” he said. “I got out of the shower and my wife said, ‘What happened? You look different.’”
Then, came the effort on his part to learn how to cope with life differently, without drugs.
Zullo’s story of divine intervention is not uncommon, but some addicts need to reach out to other people in order to get help.
“Whether it is you or a family member who needs to heal, to recover, we all have the same goal,” Zullo said.
The phone number for Lakes Region Recovery Center is (207) 803-8707. At the center, there are people who can offer support to addicts and also to the people who love someone who is addicted to opioids or other substances.
