ADDICTION AIN’T SIMPLE –
Dec. 25, 2025 – Over the course of several months earlier this year, staff photojournalist Gabrielle Lurie spent time documenting the life of Austin Draper, a San Francisco resident who suffers from endocarditis. Endocarditis is a rare and deadly heart infection caused by injecting drugs. Austin has been diagnosed with the condition six times in the past four years, resulting in three open-heart surgeries, the placement of a pacemaker by age 30 and amputations of all but one of his toes — as well as medical costs over $1 million, mostly covered by Medi-Cal.
Austin is also a deeply creative individual with a big network of friends and caretakers. He spoke openly with Gabrielle and reporter Maggie Angst about wanting to break the cycle of addiction: “If I can do this, I know that there’s so much more that I can do and contribute to the community,” Austin told the Chronicle. “I really think I’d be the best version of Austin that has ever existed.”
I spoke with Gabrielle about making images of Austin’s life and the process of working on this story.
