Advocates for Prescription Narcotic (Opioid) Painkillers: Drug Education ... Misuse Intervention ... Overdose Prevention 
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Welcome

Attention: Important Update


Hi, my name is Denise Windish. This website marks a mother's journey through grief and loss; in search of answers to help me understand how and why my son Jeffrey, didn't survive his Oxycontin overdose on May 16, 2009.


A labor of love, too little, too late ... to save Jeffrey. A difficult task, which has since given me many reasons to believe Jeffrey's life could've been spared from that fatal Oxycontin overdose, right then and there, in his home! in his wheelchair! (Please see Note below). IF only ... Jeffrey's family had known how deadly his pain medication really was! IF only ... Jeffrey's family had, had immediate access to the life-saving benefits of airways and antidotes (clear airways, rescue breathes and Narcan), together with prompt EMS response and rapid transport to the hospital.


Note: 911 Dispatcher told Jeffrey's brother Jon - to take Jeffrey (physically disabled man (Spinal Muscular Atrophy)) out of his wheelchair and put him on the floor (light undergarments/cold, hard, pressed-wood floor) and start Compression-only CPR. When Jon asked "shouldn't I be blowing in his mouth or something" the Dispatcher said "NO." Argggg!!! It just makes me want to scream!

Why? Because per EMS.gov: Compression-only CPR does work, but only for a very specific type of cardiac arrest: Witnessed SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) of an adult or adolescent. Physiologically speaking, CPR with rescue breaths is better overall. In some circumstances, compression-only CPR is not recommended:


Child and infant CPR: Most causes of pediatric cardiac arrest are related to respiratory failure, or more simply put, breathing stops first. Children, generally speaking, are healthy and don’t have cardiac issues. When a child or infant needs CPR it’s usually because of a severe breathing problem. Once a child or infant is in cardiac arrest, the oxygen level is already severely depleted, making rescue breaths with CPR very important.

Respiratory failure leading to cardiac arrest: Drowning, overdose, choking, trauma, and sudden illnesses like severe allergic reaction and asthma attacks cause some cardiac arrests. In these cases the oxygen level is also severely depleted. Breaths are needed with chest compressions

Unwitnessed cardiac arrest: When cardiac arrest is unwitnessed, the person may have been down for a while. Like the circumstances above, the body is oxygen-depleted and the person will benefit more from CPR with rescue breaths than with compression-only CPR.


And, whats more, the following process/protocol has been in place since at least 2009:


A five-step process is recommended for the first responder encountering a suspected opioid overdose.
     1. Check for signs of opioid overdose (unconscious and unarousable, slow or absent breathing, pale, clammy skin, slow or no heart beat).

        2. Call EMS to access immediate medical attention.

        3. Administer naloxone.

        4. Rescue breathe if patient not breathing.

      5. Stay with the person and monitor their response until emergency medical assistance arrives. After 5 minutes, repeat the naloxone dose if person is not awakening or breathing well enough (10 or more breaths per minute). A repeat dose may be needed 30–90 minutes later if sedation and respiratory depression recur.

[[Per PubMed - NCBI (2015) - SAMHSA (2013): research (2009) about “The safety of prehospital naloxone administration by paramedics”.]]


I took what I learned, added my two-cents worth and projectjj79 was born. Projectjj79 was created to help combat a deadly public health issue - addiction, abuse and fatal overdoses of Prescription Narcotic Opioid Painkillers. A national problem, seriously neglected until recently: 2015, a DEA report stated "overdose deaths, particularly from prescription drugs and heroin, have reached epidemic levels" and 2017, former CDC director Thomas Frieden said "America is awash in opioids; urgent action is critical." After which, in October 2017, President Trump declared the country's opioid crisis a public health emergency.


I've taken projectjj79 as far, as I can. I'd like to think projectjj79 might have helped a few of the individuals, establishments and/or agencies, from near and far (around the world) that visited the website over the past 9-years. As such, I plan to: (1) maintain the website "AS IS" indefinitely to honor the memory of my son Jeffrey Martin Windish; and (2) expand and update the Links, Contacts and Guestbook at least monthly, so projectjj79 might always be of use to it's visitors.


Please Send me your Links and let's Stay in Touch. Thank you, Denise.


Note: This website is under construction. Feel free to look around, the changes should be completed soon.