Who’s On First? –
May 7, 2018 – A few months ago, Kourtnaye Sturgeon helped save someone’s life. She was driving in downtown Indianapolis when she saw people gathered around a car on the side of the road. Sturgeon pulled over and a man told her there was nothing she could do: Two men had overdosed on opioids and appeared to be dead. “I kind of recall saying, ‘No man, I’ve got Narcan,’ “ she says, referring to the brand- name version of the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. “Which sounds so silly, but I’m pretty sure that’s what came out.”
Sturgeon sprayed a dose of the drug up the driver’s nose, and waited for it to take effect. About a minute later, she says, the paramedics showed up. “As they were walking towards us, the driver started slowly moving,” she says. Both people survived. Sturgeon had the drug with her because she works for Overdose Lifeline, a non-profit devoted to distributing naloxone, but many bystanders would be unprepared to help. Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory urging more Americans to learn to use naloxone, and carry it with them in case they encounter someone who has overdosed.
