'I'm not waiting anymore,' says mother after 2 children overdosed on fentanyl
Delta mother who nearly lost 2 children to fentanyl overdose wants to warn public
A Delta mother nearly lost two of her children to fentanyl last month.
"I've had the rage. I have felt everything you can possibly imagine as a parent who's frustrated, angry, upset, [and] worried constantly about their child and getting them back on track."
The CBC has agreed not to publish the mother's name because of fears for her children's safety and will instead refer to her as 'Jennifer.'
Jennifer's children, a man and a woman, both in their 20s, were among nine people in Delta who overdosed within 20 minutes of each another on August 31.
All of them were casual users who believed they were taking cocaine.
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After snorting lines, all four in the group suffered fentanyl overdoses. Luckily, one of them saw the first person start to go down and called 9-1-1.
They were all given naloxone, and Jennifer's son and daughter were taken to hospital where they quickly recovered.
"You can't trust any source out there. You can't! You'd be crazy to. You're playing Russian roulette with your life," Jennifer said.
Both of her children have sworn they will stop using drugs, and one has entered a rehab program.
But Jennifer wants to share their story to warn people of the dangers of fentanyl, which has been linked to 238 overdose deaths in British Columbia in the first six months of 2016 alone.
"I can't focus on that fact they almost died, because they didn't, so I see this as an opportunity."
"I'm not waiting anymore. I'm not getting another call."
Fentanyl forums being held in Delta
Because of the heightened worry in Delta, police are holding two community forums, one on September 14 at South Delta Secondary in Tsawwassen and another on September 15 at North Delta Secondary.
Both events start at 6 p.m. PT.
Delta police, local school counsellors and a local doctor are all expected to speak at the events.
"We've seen a lot about fentanyl and its dangers for hard core drug-addicted users, but there hasn't been a ton of messaging about how it can affect the recreational user," said Delta police Sgt. Sarah Swallow.
"We are not out there to send a scare message. There are going to be some facts and figures that i think will be scary or alarming to people, but ... we're just hoping to get a bit of a conversation going."
Jennifer plans to attend the forums.
She has a third child just entering adolescence — and she fears what might happen if the fentanyl crisis continues unabated.
"These kids are so innocent ... and you know within a year, they're going to be in [secondary] school, and it's like throwing them into the wolves," she said, adding if her last child ever started doing drugs, she'd consider moving to a rural part of the province.
"'I'll get him a little ATV, and he can cruise the hills and only run into bears and deer, and he won't run into any drug dealer."
"And I'll homeschool him. Out of desperation. Because I will not sit and watch this again."
With files from Eric Rankin and Deborah Goble