Last Friday morning my sister called and was the first to wish me a happy birthday, beating my parents and even my husband. For most people, that’s not remarkable, but for me, sometimes things like this feel like a gift and a miracle.
For many years, my sister was addicted to opiates. In the last year of her addiction, she overdosed and nearly died several times. There were many moments where it felt inevitable that we would lose her. And yet, wonderfully, here we are.
On June 27th, 2018 my husband, my 2 year old daughter and I picked her up at the Boone County Jail, where the judge had agreed to hold her on a civil warrant until all the requirements of The Matthew Casey Wethington Act (known as Casey’s Law) were fulfilled by my parents and the court. Then my sister could be transported (mandatorily) to a rehabilitation facility for long term treatment.
There was nothing really about this time that made us have higher hopes than any of the other times she had gone to long term treatment. She had been in and out of treatment, both voluntarily and involuntarily, many times over the years. This time was different. She turned a corner, got sober, and fought to stay that way and stay here with us.
In the last seven years she has built a very successful career in auto sales, become a Boone County home owner, rescued a few cats, got a french bulldog, and successfully petitioned the court (with my mom’s blessing) to get back custody of my nephew, who was living with my parents.
Addiction and overdose is a sad reality of life in Kentucky. It can be difficult to hold the grief without losing compassion and empathy. Yet there is hope after addiction. If people survive it. According to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center’s Annual Drug Overdose Fatality report, in 2024, there were 18 drug overdose deaths in Boone County and 1,404 in Kentucky overall. This is down significantly from the state’s peak in 2021, where Kentucky saw 2,251 overdose deaths, 44 of which were in Boone County.
Much of the credit for this decrease is due to the hard working Kentuckians who have created pathways to provide housing, mental health and addiction treatment, and emergency services (including quick access to opiate reversal drugs like Narcan) to people with drug addiction or who have overdosed. Like they did for my sister, multiple players–in her case a Boone county circuit court judge, county emergency response, local hospitals, a long term treatment center in Richmond, Kentucky Medicaid, and my family–come together to help people walk the difficult path of recovery.
If you would like to be a part of this network by carrying naloxone, you can get more information from the Northern Kentucky Health Department at https://nkyhealth.org/savealife/, which offers both online and in person training and mail order and in person distribution. The training is brief and includes learning how to administer the medication, which is a nasal spray. For support finding treatment for you or a loved one, call the Northern Kentucky Addiction Helpline at (859-415-9280) or visit FindHelpNowKy.org to learn more about Kentucky’s efforts to decrease overdose deaths you can read more here.
As for me, I am unspeakably thankful for my sister. The sister who calls me when I’m on my way to work to say “where’s my baby” and steals my 2 year old from my mom’s house. The only person who has all the same silly 2000s flash videos memorized. The person who I can call to lovingly complain about my husband, kids, or parents. She went through a lot during her years of addiction and treatment, and that is an experience none of us that love her will ever fully understand. We are so blessed to have her for a sister, aunt, daughter, mother, cousin or friend.
Overdose Awareness Day is August 31st. It’s a time to remember those we’ve lost and to stand with those still struggling. If you or a loved one are facing addiction, know that you are not alone—and that recovery is possible.
Blog Written by BCPL Y.S. Associate, Kelsey Drifmeyer
