Written by Kate McKinnie, Director of Development
In the world of development, our goal is to effectively tell the story of The Next Door’s services – whether that is one-on-one with donors, through grant funding applications, during special events or marketing efforts. One “buzz-word” that is often used is that The Next Door is a “life-saving ministry.” Because I’m not a clinical team member and I’m relatively new to the field of addiction and recovery, I wasn’t sure what this really meant until recently.
Anyone with eyes and ears is constantly hearing about the opioid crisis in the news. Last year, The Nashville Prevention Partnership trained the entire TND staff about how to administer Narcan, which is given to a person who has overdosed on opioids. As a result of the training, each of us walked away with our own Narcan “kit,” which included a pair of gloves, two doses of Narcan, instructions, and a reporting form to fill out if/when we ever used it. I remember feeling so empowered leaving the training that I could potentially save someone’s life! From that day on, that Narcan kit sat in the bottom of my purse – where it stayed for almost a year.
Two months ago, I had just finished what felt like a normal day in the world of fundraising – I had a few meetings, worked on the E-newsletter content, wrote some donor thank you notes, proofread a grant application, etc. That morning, when the TND lot was full, I parked my car on a side street, which required me to drive around to the back of our building, something I rarely do. As I drove down Clifton Ave on my journey home, I noticed two members of our nursing staff who appeared to be pulling someone out of the bushes behind our facility. As I slowed down, I noticed it was not a female client they were helping, but a thin male who appeared to be unconscious. I rolled down my window and yelled, “Emily, do you need Narcan?” With a panicked look on her face, she said, “Yes – do you have some?” I jerked my car in park, grabbed the Narcan kit that was in my purse in the passenger seat, and raced over to help.
Because a Nurse Practitioner and a Nurse were the first responders, my only role was to give them the gloves, unwrap the first dose of Narcan, and hand it over. I watched as Emily talked to the man, telling him that she was about to administer a dose of Narcan and asking him to “stay with me.” She sprayed the Narcan in his nostrils quickly and there was no response. I asked her “do you want the second one?” and quickly unwrapped it and handed it to her. After the second dose, the man’s eyes began to flutter open, right as I heard an ambulance approaching nearby. Seeing that my non-medical services were no longer needed and that this man was in kind, capable hands, I went back to my car to drive home.
As I got in the car, still shaking, I began to process what had just occurred. What are the odds that a man experienced a drug overdose directly beside/behind an addiction treatment center? What are the odds that TND nurses spotted him stumbling outside their office window? What are the odds that I would be driving by at the exact moment someone’s life needed saving, and that I had Narcan in my purse? GOD’S PLAN BEATS ALL ODDS! He was and IS at work in the countless lives needing saving from addiction, which confirms why I choose to work in this life-saving ministry. At the next stoplight, I took a minute to praise God for using me, Narcan, and TND nurses to save a life that day and to pray that anyone battling opioid or any addiction would seek the help they need to beat the disease of addiction.
On Wednesday, July 24th, The Next Door will offer a FREE Narcan training at our facility from 10-11 am to the first 50 TND supporters who would like to be trained on how to administer this and receive their own life-saving kit. If you are interested and available that day, please register by emailing: RSVP@thenextdoor.org.
