In a world where opioid-related deaths are all too common, the impact of a rescue drug is only as effective as the information champagne behind it.
Through education, intervention, and awareness L.A. city fireman Theo Krzywicki, founder, and CEO of a non-profit called End Overdose, is using his training and personal experience to save lives around the United States.
Many paths can lead to an overdose, but Theo is doing his best to stop them from becoming deadly.
He told KNX Heroes producer Heather Jordan, "It's a taboo subject. It's really hard to talk about. It's really hard to be vulnerable and ask for help. We're really focused on making sure that every single person in the United States knows what Naloxone is and has access to it."
Naloxone is an emergency medication that can save a person's life in the case of an opioid overdose. Theo said, "It doesn't matter what opioid it is; the medication will work on it."
After breaking his leg at the age of 13, Theo was prescribed 80mg of oxycontin with unlimited refills, and by the time he hit high school, said he, "had a craving beyond my control and started using tar heroin."
Theo moved to the L.A. area a few years ago to get sober, began working in drug treatment, became a paramedic, and eventually an L.A. city fireman. In that time, he has seen the tragedy caused by the lack of awareness around drugs like Naloxone.
"I had an experience where I came to the house of parents who didn't realize they could have given Naloxone," he said. "They actually just stood by waiting for about seven minutes, and he overdosed and died, and had they intervened in that time, they could have made a difference."
Theo, his sister, and a friend began End Overdose to get the word out. In 2022, they trained over 110,000 people online, and this year, they have reached over one million people in person.
Now, Theo said the team is working with LASD "to bring out Naloxone and training to 41 of their health sites."
Theo's tireless pursuit of spreading awareness to end opioid-related overdoses makes him our KNX Hero of the Week.
Check out all our KNX Heroes here.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
