Mom of Saskatoon man who died of fentanyl overdose welcomes antidote kits
Faye Tomlinson's son Stefan died after taking fentanyl in February
The mother of a young man who died from a fentanyl overdose says she's pleased to see naloxone kits come to Saskatoon.
"I'm actually quite happy about it," Faye Tomlinson said. Her son Stefan died after taking fentanyl in February.
According to Saskatchewan's coroner's office, 25 people have died of fentanyl overdoses in the province between Jan. 1, 2013, and Aug. 31, 2015. Of those deaths, 12 happened in Saskatoon and five happened in Regina. Fentanyl is a painkiller and can be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, oxycodone or morphine. It can cause respiratory arrest.
On Wednesday the province announced that Saskatoon will be a testing site for drug overdose kits. The health ministry selected the city because of the high number of opioid users.
"[Fentanyl] just puts the person to sleep, and they're gone," Tomlinson said. She works in an ER and is familiar with some of the properties of fentanyl as well as the antidote naloxone. "The sooner you can give [naloxone], the less deprived of oxygen they are."
Tomlinson added that education is also important.
"I think people really need to know what there is out there, and the unknown of how much fentanyl is in a pill is a scary thing," she said.
When asked if these antidote kits could enable more users, Tomlinson said the benefit is more important.
"There's both sides to these story, and obviously I can't give a perfect answer," she said. "But I think ... save a life and then work with that person, if you can. But to me, to be able to save somebody's life by a simple act of giving one drug — I think is worth it."
"He had no idea", Tomlinson added, about her son's encounter with the drug. She said her son knew and trusted his source and didn't know he was taking wasn't fentanyl.
Since her son died, Tomlinson's family has become more informed about the effects and symptoms of the drug and they are trying to spread the word about dangers of fentanyl.
"There's some days that are not so great," Tomlinson said. "There is never a perfect day and I don't know if there ever will be. You've lost somebody that you love very much. And to me it's just a tragic event that it involved fentanyl and a fentanyl overdose."
