PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A man was suffering from a drug overdose Wednesday at the Food Lion off George Washington Highway in Portsmouth, but was saved when a resident administered Narcan and revived him.
The resident wished to remain anonymous, but said in a statement to 10 On Your Side:
“I was in Food Lion getting sodas when I heard a bunch of yelling. I approached the crowd of people and saw the man was completely blue. I asked someone, ‘what was wrong with him?’ They responded that they were almost positive it was a drug overdose.”
After administering both doses of Narcan she said, “he gasped and took the biggest breath and woke up. I started bawling, crying, thanking God we were able to save his life all thanks to the Narcan that was given to me. “
The vital doses of Narcan were given out at an event just days before by Jennifer Bolding, the founder of the non-profit Cruisin to Help the Homeless.
“It made me happy, knowing that I’m making a difference in the community and helping and the assist of saving lives,” said Bolding. “I’m hoping to find more events, concerts, health fairs, any kind of community resource events that will allow me to set up and distribute it.
Bolding spoke on her reasoning in educating the public on Narcan.
“Unfortunately, it could happen to anyone,” said Bolding, “You could have an elderly grandparent that’s on opioids for pain medicine, forget that they took their medication and accidentally take another pill and they could have an accidental overdose. A kid could see the medicine in their cabinet, think it’s candy, and accidentally take it and overdose. and unfortunately, weed is even getting, laced with fentanyl now. It’s something that everyone should have. I believe that it should be distributed freely.”
If you’d like to learn more about Jennifer’s non-profit, see her upcoming events, or receive one of her lifesaving kits for yourself, you can reach her at (757) 335-0632, or click here for the Cruisin to Help the Homeless website, and here for the Cruisin to Help the Homeless Facebook page. Additionally, you can help Jeniffer in her mission by making a donation to the following:
Cashapp/Venmo: JenniferAllOver
Paypal: cruisintohelpthehomeless@yahoo.com