GRANGER, Ind.–An overdose can happen to anybody, says Becky Savage, of Granger. Three years after both her sons died in the same night of an OD, she’s making it her mission to make sure other people know that.
“They were both honor students. Nick had just finished his first year at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he was majoring in chemistry and microbiology,” said Savage, a nurse, who gave her son Jack CPR, the night of the fatal ODs.
RELATED ARTICLE: The story of Jack and Nick
“We are very open with our kids and talked about the topics that everybody thinks they should be talking with their kids about. However, we did not talk to our kids about misuse and abuse of prescription drugs.” Savage said she didn’t realize how big a problem prescription drugs had become.
Savage said she found out later that her sons had been drinking. They were underage. She agreed to speak publicly for the first time at a group concerned about underage drinking.
“There was a room full of 200 parents that were terrified that something like this would happen to them and they wanted to know what they could do to prevent something like this,” she said. “From there we just started getting phone calls from different schools, asking us if we could come tell Nick and Jack’s story to their students.”
Audio titled BECKY SAVAGE INTERVIEW PART II by 93WIBC
She said she and her husband have also been on the Today Show, to tell the story and she testified in front of the U.S. Senate.
The 525 Foundation is named for Jack and Nick’s hockey numbers. The mission of the foundation is awareness, said Savage. When she speaks she tries to put a face on the opioid crisis, using pictures of Nick and Jack to help people realize that the crisis can affect any family, with just one bad choice.
PHOTO: Thinkstock/Backyard productions
