(Publisher’s Note: To make for vacations this week, LEDE News is sharing some our most popular articles. Enjoy. … place in parentheses)
(Publisher’s Note: This is the initial question-and-answer article LEDE News will publish each weekday at 4 p.m. in an effort for residents of East Ohio and the Northern Panhandle to get to know each other better and to realize there’s not much difference between the folks who live in this area. The Q@A’s take place digitally to enhance convenience, and the questions are the questions and the answers are the answers.)
A wife, a mother, a grandmother, a mother-in-law, an aunt, and a sister, Colleen Lee has lived her entire life here in the Upper Ohio Valley.
She recalls there being more kids at the playground while growing up in Shadyside, and she cherishes memories of when her parents would take the family to downtown Wheeling. Those were special trips back then, especially during the Christmas season because Main and Market streets were the next the best thing to how she imagined New York City to be.
Colleen has worked very hard for many years in the food service industry as an employee, a manager, and as an owner, but as she approaches retirement age, life continues chucking curve balls at her cranium. We’re not talking no-call-no-shows either, but instead life-or-death scenarios.
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You are native of East Ohio but have lived in West Virginia for more than two decades. Which side of the Ohio River have you enjoyed more and why?
I spent the first 40 years of my life living in Ohio and the last 23 in West Virginia. With only a body of water separating the states, there is no big difference in the landscape and weather, so that’s same. Since I have to make a choice, I guess it would have to be Ohio. I was raised there; I raised my children there; and all my family still lives there.
After 23 years I still can’t remember to get my vehicle inspection sticker, and several times a nice police officer has had to remind me to do it.
Once a Buckeye always a Buckeye and once a Mountaineer always a Mountaineer.
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One issue that does not recognize the state borders in the tri-state region is the opioid epidemic, and unfortunately the crisis has touched your life on a few occasions. What have you done in an effort to help family members and friends during those situations?
Yes, unfortunately the opioid epidemic has touched my life twice now.
I tried everything that I could the first time to help my family member. I reached out to anyone and everyone that I thought could help. We had so many doors closed in our faces. I sought out a local politician hoping that maybe this person could help me find the resources I needed to get my loved one help. We had two appointments set up, but they cancelled both and never rescheduled with me.
We contacted several drug rehabilitation places only to learn if you were uninsured, there wasn’t much they could do for you unless you had lots of cash. We were on waiting lists at several places but never got in.
When an addict says they are ready for help you can’t put them on a waiting list. They need to go now because they won’t wait.
This is the second time that addiction has hit another family member, but things are different for this person. They are insured and covered for rehab. Not totally covered, but it is doable. This person will be able to do a 28-day program in rehab which is what is needed to beat this.
Learning Curve
What are the signs of addiction you have learned to look for during your experiences?
The signs …this is one thing that I beat myself up over. I didn’t see the signs the first time. I didn’t live with my loved one, and he was an adult, so I didn’t see them. The weight loss, no money and the dope sickness. They kept those signs hidden from me. Their friends, their true friends, opened my eyes to what was going on. And you never think that this could happen in your family to your loved one.
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How does it make you feel when you read on social media that family members and first responders should let the overdosed die?
When someone says, “Let the addict die,” of course, it angers me. I hear all the time that it is their choice to use. Yes, it was their choice to use. They made a mistake, but should they be convicted to die for that mistake? We all make mistakes, and for most of us our mistakes are not a death sentence. The alcoholic makes the choice to take that first drink; the smoker takes his first drag on that cigarette; the gambler puts that first dollar into the machine. Should they be convicted to die for those addictions too?
I’ve educated myself with everything I could get my hands on about this issue, and I can’t help but believe the pharmaceutical companies knew what they were doing.
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Do you feel law enforcement and local and state governments in Ohio and West Virginia are doing enough to combat the epidemic, and if not, what suggestions do you have?
Do I feel there is enough being done by law enforcement and local and state governments? No. This is an epidemic.
Do I have the answers? No. I wish I did. Do I have some suggestions? Yes.
The government needs to step in and do something. Make these pharmaceutical companies pay for what they have done. Use that money to help addicts get clean and make it easier for them to get the help they need when they need it and not put on some list. We have too many children growing up without parents. We need to educate the children in school.
Have you ever watched an addict go through withdrawal on their own? I have, and it’s frightening. Let the kids watch that. Withdrawal pain was described to me once like they felt they were in a car logger at a junk yard, and that image alone should keep everyone away from these drugs that ruin, or end, far too many lives.
