Arkansas mother bringing awareness to opioids after daughter’s overdose
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – In 2021, there were 386 opioid overdose deaths in Arkansas according to state data.
Rachel Brewer, an Arkansas mother, is relieved that her daughter was able to still be alive after her overdose.
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14-year-old Ava Brewer was recovering after having her tonsils removed and was prescribed oxycodone.
Brewer said she was already on medication from having Angelman Syndrome, so she began taking all prescriptions at once.
“I just kept thinking have we lost the Ava that we have,” Brewer said.
It wasn’t long after until Ava’s body began responding oddly to the medicine.
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Brewer said she looked pale and started having a shortness of breath. She said an hour later Ava was being rushed to the hospital. On the way there, she lost conscious and stopped breathing completely.
“I thought it was because of the tonsillectomy I thought that she had swelling, and things were closing up,” Brewer said. It wasn’t until the physician asked if opioids or drugs was used in their home that she realized the oxycodone was the problem.
“Never would I have even thought about that,” Brewer said.
Now that she is aware she wants people to remember Ava when given medication, using her name as an acronym.
“Ask verify ask, are there any side effects, are there any contraindications I need to know about and then you verify independently,” Brewer said.
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