North Little Rock, Arkansas – State records show that 386 people died in Arkansas from drug overdoses in 2021.
The mother of a daughter who overdosed in Arkansas, Rachel Brewer, is glad that her daughter is still living.
Ava Brewer, 14, was taking oxycodone to help her heal after having her tonsils taken out.
She said she was already taking medicine for Angelman Syndrome, so she started all of her meds at the same time.
“All I could think was, Have we lost the Ava that we have?” Brewer asked.
Soon after, the medicine started to make Ava’s body act in strange ways.
Brewer said she looked pale and began to have trouble breathing. After an hour, she said Ava was being rushed to the hospital. While she was on the way, she lost consciousness and stopped breathing.
As Brewer put it, “I thought it was because of the tonsillectomy. I thought she had swelling and things were closing up.” She didn’t know the oxycodone was the trouble until the doctor asked if they used any opioids or drugs at home.
Brewer said, “I would never have thought of that.”
Now that she knows, she wants people to use her name as a code to remember to give her medicine.
Brewer said, “Ask, verify, ask: Are there any side effects or contraindications I need to know about? Then you verify on your own.”
