a little about George...
Dr. George O'Neil, entrepreneur extraordinaire, founded Freshstart not-for-profit organization, founded Go Medical Industries, Research Director & innovator, Inventor of the O'Neil implant & O'Neil catheter among other inventions, missionary doctor to Africa, Addiction Medicine doctor, part-time obstetrician/gynecologist, father, husband, and front-line sprinter in this race of faith! This man is seriously changing the face of addiction medicine, and his naltrexone implants actually WORK in getting people off not just heroin, but also alcohol, ice, tranqs, you name it! It's crazy. I think it just hit me today that I met someone famous. 10 years from now I'll be reading about him in textbooks! But all that aside, George is the humblest & kindest man I've ever met despite all his accomplishments. He lives very humbly, that one of his patients the other day was in disbelief when they saw his old station wagon roll in and even told him how they felt like buying him a new car (you wouldn't even think he was the founder of a multi-million dollar organization) His patients and staff are treated like his children. He gives them his full attention and somehow makes everyone feel welcomed. The front door to his house is always open, he gives away his home phone & mobile numbers to his patients, even tells his patients where he lives in case they need to find him! The O'Neils are incredibly generous! They don't hold onto anything tightly in this world, especially money. They pay out of their own pockets to keep the organization up & running, and never turn away patients even if they don't have enough money to pay for treatment. There are ppl who show up at their clinic from all over Australia. Sometimes the O'Neils even pay for their ticket to fly out to Perth! They definitely taught me firsthand what it truly meant to have a generous heart & to not hold onto things of this world so tightly.. for it all becomes dust in the end anyways.
a little (or a lot) about addiction medicine...
addiction occurs on 3 levels:
- The Level of the Cell - there are opioid receptors on the cell membrane. during times of stress there is a spike in endogenous opioid release. if there is chronic stress (ex. growing up in a dysfunctional family, series of broken relationships, etc) then after a while the chronic high concentration of endogenous opioids will damage the receptors from over-use. damage causes insensitivity and therefore increases the release of opioids in order to maintain same effect. if in combination with morphine, heroin or other opiates, then we see increased damaged and decreased sensitivity of receptors.
- The Level of the Brain - Paul talks about the internal battle between the flesh and the mind in Romans 7, in modern terms it can be seen as the battle between the limbic system and executive functioning of the prefrontal cortex, or perhaps the head vs. the heart. It's all the same thing. With Pavlov's dogs, their dopamine levels increased 50% at the anticipation/desire for food when the bell rang. With heroin, dopamine levels rise 1000x! imagine overcoming that strong of a craving for something..
- The Level of the Person - our roadmap to life begins when we grow up at home. if we come from a dysfunctional family then all we grow up with and all we know are unhealthy relationships and unhealthy ways with dealing & coping. Everyone on drugs to some degree battles with guilt, and therefore the big hump for most is forgiveness - learning to forgive and learning to be forgiven.
- body/physiology (cellular level) --> introducing an antagonist to block drug's effects thereby allowing time for receptors to 'heal' and become like brand-new. blocked effects also allow freedom of mind not chained by cravings/desires and offers enough time for the patient to get back on their feet for a second chance
- mind/cognition (brain level) --> counselling & mentor services are offered
- soul/self-actualization (person level) --> chaplaincies, bible studies/devos in the detox houses, community houses similar to Teen Challenge, opportunities for education & skills training, employment opportunities (quite a few of the workers/volunteers at FreshStart are previous patients!)
- Physiology (the naltrexone implants, antagonizing opiate effects)
- Housing (ensuring patients have a place to live to start the road to recovery)
- Relationships (mending & re-building broken relationships; re-learning how to form healthy relationships)
- Education (patients are encouraged to gain an education & a christian-version of the 'Twelve Steps")
- Employment (ultimate goal of reintegration into the community with a self-sustaining not self-destructive lifestyle)
a little about doctor politics...
In addiction medicine, the buzz word that's thrown around is harm-reduction. Essentially this means to reduce risks associated with drug use without actually interfering with patient's drug behaviour. In other words its about decreasing the number of deaths caused by ODs and decreasing the spread of disease, without actually solving the problem of addiction. The current government-funded form of treatment is methadone. According to the doctors, methadone (opioid agonist) is man's best method for treating drug addiction, but if you talk to the patients, its far from the ideal. Methadone is nasty stuff, erodes & decays your teeth, decreases bone density, causes widespread aches & pains, depression & withdrawal-induced psychosis, and worst of all you're still addicted to opiates and still experience cravings. It has a horrible success rate and talking to the patients at the detox clinic, methadone is the worst stuff to detox from, far worse than heroin itself. So then one has to question why are doctors giving patients methadone if a) it destroys the patient physically b) its painfully hard to detox from and c) at the end of the day the patient is still addicted and using opiates.
There's a new emerging approach to addiction medicine which doesn't involve harm-reduction. There's no fancy word attached, it just simply believes that not only can harm be reduced, but also recovery from addiction can be made where the patient can remain opiate-free! Talking to patients who've received naltrexone (opioid antagonist) treatment, you see firsthand how effective it is! It completely stops the cravings and desires, along with the drugs' effects. The only people I've heard who are against the use of antagonist-therapy are the doctors, namely the pro-methadone doctors. Taking a step back, you'd wonder why there even is a debate. Methadone treatment: going from one type of opiate to another type of opiate. Naltrexone treatment: going from one type of opiate to none! with the emergence of antagonist therapy, pro-methadone doctors such as Alex Wodak (credited to have started the needle injection site movement) have written such charged letters to members of the Australian government basically saying they shouldn't even be thinking of funding naltrexone work (since funding for naltrexone work means less funding for methadone work). I spent a chunk of this week helping George write an affidavit, and its crazy how doctors can get so petty, juvenile, and be outright liars. As I was reading this document from Wodak speaking against naltrexone, one by one all the points he listed were lies and the worst thing was he knew it, but that didn't stop him. Sounds so petty and so wrong. Many of the patients I've talked to want to receive naltrexone therapy but its just too expensive. Its such an injustice if you think about it, that the government is denying patients from truly getting better, or at least having the option to choose! I'm sure 10 years down the road the dust will settle, but I'm inspired to see this process speed up. hrm, surveys, questionnaires & letters here we come =)
a little about some people I met...
Jason: he had been abusing alcohol since young and had been in and out of jail all his life because of the influence of alcohol. He told me the longest time he'd ever been out of jail was for 7 weeks. But after receiving treatment with a naltrexone implant, he's now been outta jail for 2 years! It's been 2 years from touching alcohol and 2 years after finding God & himself. It was pretty awesome getting to know him. He's in the process of finding a job now, just submitted his resumes and everything. How awesome :)
Peter: he has used and abused practically everything from ice, benzos, heroin, alcohol, etc since he was 13 years old and was headed in a downward spiral. he wanted out of his addiction and found George to get treated. He's now been practically drug-free for 10 years and mentors other patients who are just coming out of addiction. He's also not shy to mention the huge role God has played in transforming his life. it was so edifying to talk about God with him :) it still catches me offguard a lot of times when I meet Christians from a whole other walk of life than mine, definitely not the typical church-goer person you'd imagine. How wonderful is that!
Jessica: travelled all the way from Brisbane with some friends to receive an implant (was too expensive in Brisbane since they have to pay the full price cuz there's no George to swallow up the costs). Not a Christian and doesn't want anything to do with it, but was surprisingly so open about her relationship with her dad and how much hurt he's caused her and her family. She's struggling with forgiving her father. She gave me her mobile number so i'll have to chase her down this week :) how beautiful it would be if she finds Christ and learns to forgive and be forgiven. she noticed the HopeFoundation bracelet i was wearing, and is friends with some friends of Bronwen Healey! how wonderful it'd be to take her to hopefoundation next thursday :)
Tess: lost her boyfriend a year ago who overdosed on heroin and is having a tough time grieving. she has uncontrolled diabetes, a complication from excess heroin use, and doesn't have all that long to live (maybe 10 years max), but is trying so hard to live out a fulfilling life. I remember hugging her and feeling how frail she was. Not someone you'd expect to be around my age. George has done so much for this young girl, beyond treatment but in supporting her emotionally. He came in afterhours one day to the girls detox house just to talk to her and see how she was going. (this after finishing work around 7!)
a little about some random stuff...
This past week I baked my very FIRST cake from scratch =) and learned how to bar chords on the guitar courtesy of one of their sons Graham who taught me despite my slow intake lol. i also finished reading Deadly Money Maker by Saga McOdongo, and learned a little about the drug world in Kenya (drugs in kiswahili is 'marufuku'). Its a good read, writing of her experience locked up in jail in Kenya for drug trafficking. i've also heard the strangest song ever known to man! it makes me crack up everytime i listen to it!
a little about some things i've learned...
- live humbly knowing it is He who does a good work in us
- live joyfully each day when in plenty or in need
- have FUN joining in on God's work
- use the time we're given wisely, don't waste it!
- be patient and always be ready to forgive 70x7 times even if patients lie or disappoint you
- we receive from Him so that we can give to others, so don't hold onto the things of this world
