It can happen to you!

So many people think that they are somehow immune to the evils or consequences of their choices. "Just this once won't hurt me" or "that can't happen to me." Its a common pitfall that people fall into. One of these addictions people fall subject to is a substance known simply as cheese. According to Wikipedia "Cheese is formed by combining heroin with crushed tablets of certain over-the-counter cold medication, such as Tylenol PM. Such cold medications contain acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and the antihistamine diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl. Cheese samples obtained in north Dallas contained between 2% and 8% heroin, in contrast to the 30% commonly found in black tar heroin. Users commonly take the powder sniffing rather than by IV injection."
For some reason or another this drug found its way predominantly to the Dallas/Ft. Worth scene 2-3 years ago and has become very popular among middle school and high schoolers. "It's a unique combination that could give a rush of an amphetamine combined with a floaty high of an opiate." She said the cheap cost of cheese -- it's sold in small packages for between $2 and $10 -- could entice young users. Its been known as the "poor mans heroin."

Now fast forward to my reasoning for posting this blog. A patient that we have on our floor. A girl that was once a normal 17 year old, 10 months ago. But one night, the day after her birthday, out partying with her friends, he life changed forever. Dumped in the parking lot of Parkland Hospital by her "friends," she suffered a severe over-dose. Unfortunately for her, not quite enough to kill just enough to put her in a permanent vegetative state. She requires a Trach to breathe, and her body is stiff, contracted and hard. To look at her, you can see the remnants of what she once was, a high school student, with a "normal" life, that she will never have again.