The number eleven is a significant number to me as a professional. No, it is not the number of years I have served as an educator, or the number of schools that I have worked in, but rather the number of lives and families I saw totally destroyed by the abuse of prescription drugs. Remember, the community in which our school is located has a population s 1,500 people. The significance in the number eleven is the total number of fatal drug over-doses our school district and community dealt with over a length of time spanning eighteen months.
This time period in my career was very stressful, extremely challenging, and also made me question why and how. A majority of the eleven individuals were former students that had attended Oilton Public Schools. Some were individuals that I had invested a significant amount of time in as students and had developed strong relationships with their parents, while others I knew of their families while growing up in the community.
I didn’t realize the wide spread availability of prescription drugs until one of the very first students had over-dosed. By the grace of God, Bobby did not lose his life initially during this experience but had caused a substantial amount of damage internally as a result of long-term use. Bobby’s over-dose was especially hard on me because I had spent a …show more content…
The contractor Bobby was working for had landed a contract in Arkansas which required Bobby to work away from home during the week and be at home on the weekends. AS I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, Bobby’s over-dose and substance abuse had done some significant damage internally that nobody at the time in which he was hospitalized. The opiate abuse significantly damaged his heart and Bobby was found dead in his apartment while working in Arkansas. He was clean and sober at the time of his passing but yet, the damage had been done to his
This time period in my career was very stressful, extremely challenging, and also made me question why and how. A majority of the eleven individuals were former students that had attended Oilton Public Schools. Some were individuals that I had invested a significant amount of time in as students and had developed strong relationships with their parents, while others I knew of their families while growing up in the community.
I didn’t realize the wide spread availability of prescription drugs until one of the very first students had over-dosed. By the grace of God, Bobby did not lose his life initially during this experience but had caused a substantial amount of damage internally as a result of long-term use. Bobby’s over-dose was especially hard on me because I had spent a …show more content…
The contractor Bobby was working for had landed a contract in Arkansas which required Bobby to work away from home during the week and be at home on the weekends. AS I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, Bobby’s over-dose and substance abuse had done some significant damage internally that nobody at the time in which he was hospitalized. The opiate abuse significantly damaged his heart and Bobby was found dead in his apartment while working in Arkansas. He was clean and sober at the time of his passing but yet, the damage had been done to his