As heroin takes another life, a mother fights back

Transcription

1 Page 1 of 7 As heroin takes another life, a mother fights back DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Jeanne Flynn held a picture of her only child, Brian. She spoke openly about the impact of his heroin abuse. By Laura Crimaldi GLO BE STAFF MAY 09, 2015

2 Page 2 of 7 BOURNE For 10 years, Brian Flynn was hooked on opioids. He was Jeanne Flynn s only child, and she did everything she could to help him and other families trapped in the hell that is heroin addiction. She used Narcan to save her son from an overdose and went to the State House to tell her story. She wrote to lawmakers demanding better access to substance abuse treatment. She grew so desperate she went to court twice, beseeching a judge to compel Brian to get help. CONTINUE READING BELOW It was not enough. She found Brian, 26, unresponsive in a bathroom at home in Bourne on Sunday after she returned from a baby shower and a trip to the grocery store. There was a needle near him, and blue papers that she believes had contained heroin in his bedroom. His death has to be a catalyst to reach out and help others, Flynn, 63, said through tears Friday as she stood in her kitchen. Even more so, I think his purpose is to... have him speak through me. We need more help for these kids.... It s a disease. It s not something fun. The incident marked the 18th time Brian had overdosed since he got involved in heroin seven years ago, Flynn said. Her son shared the grim personal statistic with her a month ago. CONTINUE READING IT BELOW View Story

3 Page 3 of 7 Father s unstoppable need to know Jim Kasper just wants the truth and justice. As his Harry slid toward death by heroin overdose, those with him did nothing to help. Shouldn t there be a price to pay for that? Mass. opioid deaths top 1,000 Horowitz: Inside the heroin crisis He said, Mum, I ve actually overdosed 17 times. Some people will OD and die the first time. So God must have a plan for me to be here that I have survived this many times, Flynn said. The eighteenth didn t work. Flynn said she now sees the purpose of Brian s life was to help others with addiction. She said she plans to continue to fight to get better insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment, increase the availability of treatment beds, and change the way the criminal justice system treats addicts. These kids are dying like flies every day and it s like a blink of an eye, said Flynn, a retired postmaster. Oh, another three gone today. OK. Well, what s for dinner?... That s really about what it is. His death has to be a catalyst to reach out and help others. Jeanne Flynn, on her 26-year-old son Brian s fatal overdose For years, Flynn and her husband, Arthur, 67, were consumed by their son s needs, sending him out of state for treatment, watching him go to jail, and making phone calls to find him a space in one of the state s crowded detox facilities. Over the last 18 months, the situation was compounded by Arthur being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was recently admitted to hospice at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Brockton, and Flynn has begun planning his funeral.

4 Page 4 of 7 JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF Jeanne Flynn with Brian lin Bourne last year. He took it better than anybody, she said. He said, The struggle is over. He s at peace. And he s right. And that s the only thing that s sustaining us. In the months before his death, Flynn said, Brian gave her hope. He went to Texas for treatment and stayed sober for 100 days. But she believes that after a close friend fatally overdosed in February, Brian started using again. On April 1, he broke his right hand snowboarding at Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire and needed surgery. The injury left Brian depressed as he worried about taking opiates for pain and that his cast would make him unemployable, Flynn said. He went to a detox center the last week of April, but could not get into a sober house right away. Flynn told him not to come home, so he stayed with a friend. But within a day, Brian told her he only felt safe at home and his mother welcomed him back.

5 Page 5 of 7 Flynn last saw her son alive on Sunday at breakfast, as he ate corned beef hash. She left for a baby shower in Barnstable, and at 2:54 p.m., she received a text. Mum, where are you, Brian wrote. DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Days after her son Brian s death from an apparent overdose, Jeanne Flynn was visited by two of his close friends, Gabriella Golfomitsos and Kristen Vicente, both of Sandwich. It was the last time she heard from him. When Flynn returned home from the grocery store, the bathroom door near his bedroom was open. There he was. He was just like in a fetal position, Flynn said. I couldn t even see his face. One of Brian s friends, Kirsten Vicente, who is also in recovery, visited Flynn on Friday afternoon. Vicente s sister is the mother of Brian s 6-year-old daughter, Arianna. She went above and beyond, Vicente, 24, said about Jeanne Flynn. She knew she didn t know much about the addiction, so she went out and learned so that she knew how to help him in any way.

6 Page 6 of 7 Lisa Murphy, founder of the organiation arents Supporting arents, said other families draw strength from Flynn. She s always been a strong advocate, Murphy said. She s the kind of the person who has the spirit where you think she s just never going to give up and that showed. For now, Flynn is preparing to remember her son at services next week. Surrounded at home by mementos of Brian s life a Sandwich Little League jersey, graduation gown, varsity baseball jacket Flynn recalled the many times he came home from treatment. When he comes out and he s clean, he s ready to conuer the world, she said. But the world has conuered him. DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Jeanne Flynn looked at her late son Brian's high school jacket and graduation gown.

7 Page 7 of 7 Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Get Today's Headlines from the Globe in your inbox: Enter your address SIGN UP rivacy olicy SHOW 58 COMMENTS 2015 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC