By Andy Furman
NKyTribune staff writer
It was Save a Life Day. She did – her own.
NKYHealth designated Thursday as Save a Life Day.
“We wanted to get naloxone in the hands of as many Northern Kentuckians as possible,” Seth Steele, the NKY Health Department Program Supervisor told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
The Save a Life Day started in 2020 in two West Virginia counties – and has grown to now include organizations from all 50 states working to get as much naloxone into the hands of the public as possible.
Last year, more than 84,000 doses were given out.
One of those doses saved the life of Gabi Deaton.
But first – why Naloxone?
It is a life-saving medication used to reverse an opoid overdose. It acts as an opioid antagonist, binding to the same receptors in the brain as opioids but without activating them. This blocks the effects of opioids and can restore normal breathing within two-to-three minutes.
Naloxone is non-addictive and has no effect on a person without opioids in their system.
“I started using drugs when I was around 12 years old,” said the 34-year-old Deaton. “First it was marijuana and alcohol. I was doing it with friends.”
She said she was living with her single mom, and, “She didn’t know about my then drug problem.
“Early on, it was just having fun with friends.”
At 16, Deaton’s mom passed in an automobile accident.
“I was living with my grandparents. I had a lot of freedom. I was into heroin.”
But it was not noticeable. In fact, she played volleyball for Dixie Heights High School.
And it got worse. She said the heroin led to Xanax and morphine pills. Xanax is a brand name for the prescription drug alprazolam, which is a powerful and fast-acting benzodiazepine. It is a central nervous systems (CNS) depressant that is used to treat panic disorders.
“For me,” Deaton said, “I felt trauma in my life; I was uncomfortable.”
Xanax works by increasing the effects of a neurotransmitter in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA helps to calm down nerve activity in the brain, which leads to feelings of relaxation and reduced anxiety.
For Gabi Deaton it led to trouble.
“I graduated Dixie High in 2009, somehow,” she admits. “But I was arrested after my 18th birthday in Bromley. I spent two days in jail.”
In fact, from the ages of 16-to-20, she said she was a daily heroin user.
In 2011, she spent two weeks in jail for robbery.
“I stole money from my grandma,” she said. “I was still using heroin; failed a drug test in court named spent two months in jail.”
She was ordered to the Brighton Recovery Center in Florence for 16 months and says she’s been clean since January 13, 2011.
And, get this – yes there is a happy ending here.
“I did their 12-Step Program. I changed friends. I went to school and got an Associate’s Degree from Waterway Community College; a Bachelors in Social Work from NKU, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Kentucky.”
She’s married — met her husband in re-hab – he works for UPS, and get this, Gabi Deaton serves as the Health Educator for NKYHealth.
“I want to educate the community and district on Narcan – it saved my life.”
Steele says the Save A Life Day was a first for NKYHealth in Northern Kentucky. They offered free narcan at several locations across NKY on Thursday.
“We got community partners and the health clinic to distribute the Naloxone,” he said. “We get the doses from state funds and grants; and there is absolutely no cost to the public for use.”
He says their aim is for adults.
“We even give a brief training for those who never used the drug,” he said. “But, you can’t use it on yourself. Only for use when people, are overdosing.”
The goal – to get as much life-saving medication out there as we can, Steele says.
All the public really needs to do is hear Gabi Deaton’s life-saving story.