After receiving a call on Monday morning, Spring Gagne moved into action. A friend who he calls a brother was in a Riverside home with a second man who overdosed on drugs.
Desperate call
His friend knew that Gagne has a Naloxone kit which holds medication that can briefly block the effects of opioids such as morphine, fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone and methadone. His friend urged him to hurry.
Gagne, 20-years old arrived at the house and pounded on the door, but no one answered. Upon entering the house, he discovered one man who is unconscious. His friend was drooling and appears to have overdosed too. Gagne injected both men with Naloxone and requested a woman in the home to call for emergency assistance. He performed CPR on his friend until the arrival of the ambulance.
The paramedics attended on the two men and breathing was restored by the time they were moved into the ambulance.
Be prepared
According to Gagne, they both would have died if he had not administered Naloxone. In Saskatoon, drug users and family members can acquire a free take-home Naloxone kit or can be purchased. Gagne does not use drugs but has several friends who do. He decided to get a kit after seeing people die from overdose and determined not to see it happen.
Everybody must carry a Naloxone kit. The number of opioid-related deaths in Canada has increased in the recent years.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid and CPR class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/first-aid/cpr