Touching –
Nov. 28, 2018 – Lau’s first experience with prescription painkillers came at 17. She was outside in flip-flops with a puppy. The grass was wet. She fell, and her left ankle “went the wrong way.” Lau underwent surgery — she received a plate and screws in one side, and a screw in the other. She also got her first prescription. She doesn’t remember being warned about the risk of addiction.
At 19, Lau recreationally started using painkillers. She said she didn’t have a good reason. She liked the way the drugs made her feel — how they numbed everything. Later, Lau dislocated her wrist in a motorcycle accident. By then, she’d already developed a problem. But the doctors didn’t know. They gave a script for Oxys — “the best win,” she said, for someone who’s addicted to opioids.It spiraled from there.
