In this episode, you’’ll hear Lisa Gundlach speaking with Curtis Rajacich about his friend Michael who experienced a fatal overdose at age 41.
Jenna Keeble 00:00
Unsilencing Stories is a podcast that reflects the voices of people in small towns and communities in Canada, who have lost loved ones to the toxic drug supply crisis. Since 2016. More than 30,000 people have died from fatal overdoses in Canada and that number continues to climb. The risk in smaller towns and communities is much higher than urban areas because of a lack of harm reduction services, and stigma against substance use and people who use drugs. This podcast is part of a community based participatory research project facilitated by Aaron Goodman, Ph.D., a faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C., along with students Jenna Keeble and Ashley Pocrnich.
The aim was to assist collaborators in publicly memorializing their loved ones and expressing grief as well as challenging silences imposed by dominant media organizations and stigma from society against substance use and people who use drugs. We hope these nuanced stories make it clear why the government needs to be doing more to prevent further deaths. Please note, this podcast contains information about overdose death, grief and trauma that may be distressing to listen to. In this episode, you'll hear Lisa Gundlach, speaking with Curtis Rajacich, about his friend Michael, who experienced a fatal overdose at age 41.
Lisa 01:13
Tell me your first and last name.
Curtis 01:15
Curtis and my last name is Reggie.
Lisa 01:17
Where do you live?
Curtis 01:18
I live in Prince George at the moment.
Lisa 01:21
Is there one person you would like to speak about?
Curtis 01:24
Yes, there is. His name is Michael Evans.
Lisa 01:28
Okay, can you tell me their age?
Curtis 01:31
He was 41.
Lisa 01:33
How good of a friend was he of yours?
Curtis 01:35
I've known Michael, knew him since grade one. So, from a very early age, I've known him.
Lisa 01:43
Obviously, you knew he was an addict then.
Curtis 01:45
Yes. Me and him, we both partake in our addictions together.
Lisa 01:51
Okay. When this fentanyl started coming out, were you guys around them together?
Curtis 02:00
Yeah. We weren't really using street drugs at that point, heroin, or any fentanyl. At that point we were just on our pain meds from our doctor's, waiting for surgeries. Basically, both of us were both crippled. And yeah, we were doing those. And, of course, after a while.
Lisa 02:22
That's usually how it is, hey. Moreso, you know or curiosity. When you were using in your first time with him, your friend, and you did fentanyl together, were you guys aware of the dangers of that drug?
Curtis 02:41
Yeah, we were. But it wasn't really, I guess we really didn't really give a flame.
Lisa 02:48
Yeah, I know. When did he die from the fentanyl overdose?
Curtis 02:53
Would have been right after his 41st birthday, which was a year, October.
Lisa 02:59
Yeah, I remember that. That was a sad day, knowing that you lost your really good friend to the fentanyl. What is your very first memory of the day that you found out that your best friend died?
Curtis 03:13
On Facebook. There was a posting saying, I'm sorry to hear about Michael. And I thought wait a second, that doesn't sound good. So, I called my mother at the time, and I asked her if Michael was still around because he had rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 11. It hit him really quick. I still have his last text message. I keep on texting that number, even though it's not his number, so I can keep that text going. His spine had depleted so much that he couldn't have surgery done on it anymore. So, I mean, he's going to lose his mobility. I remember him telling me that he wanted to, you know, if he ever got to that point and couldn't off himself, he wanted me to do it for him because there was no way of living, right. So, I think that's what happened. It was like a planned thing, a planned overdose.
Lisa 04:04
I get that. Wow. I know a few people that were like that, too. I do believe that's why they're not here. How are you doing with fentanyl? Because I know you work at Pound's Frontline, right. And you know what, they're, and I know that you probably know a lot more people that you're close to that died from a fentanyl overdose.
Curtis 04:32
A lot of people here in town that are new are not here anymore. It's like a safe injection site. More than likely. No better way to put it. It's a great place to work. It's an awesome opportunity to be able to do that and it's also hard on the heart and in the mind. Whatever else I'm going through at the time, that one day, like we were working, and we had three or four overdose, four or five hours spend. You know, they all made it, that was good. So, but to show us the importance of that place.
Lisa 05:05
What is your outlook on fentanyl prices?
Curtis 05:08
I'm finding the North is really far behind, compared to let’s say, the Lower Mainland and this aspect. I don't want to insult anybody when I say this, but it's very conservative. So that means, stuff like this is usually shunned upon in that situation. So, you know, it's awesome to be a part, like I said, of Pounds and stuff like that.
Lisa 05:30
You also do other outreach work, too.
Curtis 05:32
Yeah, I do. I hand out safe supplies in the evenings and I am on a committee with the city of Prince George.
Lisa 05:41
So that they're right there, you put yourself out there to help out with the crisis. That's awesome. That's really awesome.
Curtis 05:51
Kind of going in circles, some of those meetings, and it's frustrating, but it's, we'll get something done soon here, I think.
Lisa 06:01
Have you ever been with anybody that overdosed and didn't come back from it?
Curtis 06:09
I was. I didn't really know the guy too well, but he was lying in front of, actually your place. I came up for a smoke and of course, I see like five people just walk around him. And I can't do that, I at least have to check to see if the guy's breathing. So, I did. And I could tell when I was walking up, he wasn't breathing at all, there was no heartbeat. So, I started CPR right away. Somebody else came over so, Naloxone started giving that and I was doing CPR for about 15 minutes until the paramedics or cop arrived and was the first person on scene that finally took over because it was getting a little tiring after doing that, because he was a big guy. And so, it was a lot of work.
Lisa 06:56
How did you feel about that?
Curtis 06:57
I've had a lot of people pass away in my life due to a wide range of things and being overseas with the military for a bit was horrible too. So, it's not like it didn't faze me. It always does. It always like, a little tricky pass away, almost. Even if you didn't know the person but I guess I haven't really dealt with any of it. If I think about it. If I stopped using drugs, street drugs, and got off the methadone program and actually was clean and sober again, like I was for nine years, I would feel these feelings and probably be able to deal with them at some point. So maybe this will hit me like a freight train.
Jenna Keeble 07:43
That brings us to the end of this episode of the Unsilencing Stories podcast. To listen to more interviews in the series, please go to www.unsilencingstories.com, and if you'd like to share your thoughts on the episode, message us at unsilencingstories@gmail.com. Thank you so much for listening and please share the project with other people you know.