Former Hillsborough principal warns of opioid dangers after losing only child to overdose
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Cathy Valdes dedicated her life to education. She spent 42 years serving Hillsborough County students and later retired as the deputy superintendent. Then in 2008, her life changed forever.
“Our only child died from a prescription drug overdose,” said Valdes. “I was a teacher, I was a principal, I was a district administrator and I thought ‘How this can happen to us?’ I should’ve known and I should’ve seen.”
Michael was only 24. He had a herniated disc and had been seeing a doctor.
“That was the days of the pill mills, and he had been prescribed thousands of oxycodone, thousands of Xanax and hundreds of methadone,” she said.
Michael became addicted to those pills.
“As an educator, I’m hoping that we educate ourselves out of this terrible epidemic of overdose deaths,” Valdes continued.
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There were 583 overdose deaths in Hillsborough County last year, according to local hospital officials. Although these deaths are 8% lower than 2022, the numbers are still concerning.
Valdes now serves as the Hillsborough chapter president of Narcotics, Overdose Prevention Education (NOPE), which has brought her back inside the classroom.
She has three main messages for students:
“All it takes is one time and it can kill you,” she said. “If you’re struggling with substance use or abuse and or you have a friend that’s struggling, then get some help. If someone is overdosing right in front of them, they can call 911 and because of that Good Samaritan Law, they will not get into any legal trouble.”
Valdes speaks at numerous events across Tampa Bay, including an event at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, where over the weekend, they properly discarded of more than 483 pounds of prescription medications as part of Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
“Getting those drugs out of our cabinets to get them off the streets so they’re not even a temptation for some young person that may be in your medicine cabinet,” she said.
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