A pair of quick-acting Princeton teens may well have saved a life last week.
What were they thinking?
“Honestly it’s kinda funny, but we both had the same thought – please don’t die,” said TJ Driedger, 19.
Driedger was watching television in her apartment with her boyfriend Gabe Freeborn, 18, when she heard a noise coming from her neighbour’s unit.
“I heard someone crying and screaming. I thought it was one of my friends so I waited a second thinking they were coming inside, but the noise just stayed sort of muffled,” she told The Spotlight.
“I went outside my door to check and saw my neighbour’s door open and heard her panicking inside, screaming she needed help.”
Driedger entered to discover a man suffering from an apparent overdose, and her neighbour trying unsuccessfully to deliver Naloxone.
Without easy access to a phone, Driedger ran down the street to her uncle’s home where she called 911, yelling for help as she went.
Meanwhile, Freeman managed to administer the life-saving Narcan.
“I opened up one of kits and got some into his leg. I then asked his girlfriend to get me some water to pour over his head to wake him up a bit.”
Paramedics arrived and finished caring for the man, who later visited Driedger and Freeborn to express his thanks.
“We just wanted him to be safe,” said Driedger. “Narcan kits are an important thing to teach everyone to use.”
While B.C. overdose deaths soar, Princeton made a recovery in 2020
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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