Merritt man Andrew Heard, age 30, died of a fentanyl overdose in Kamloops on April 24, 2022.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Roberta Heard

The mother of a Merritt man who died of a fentanyl overdose in Kamloops two months ago said she is still in shock over the unexpected death of her son.

The family from Merritt has been living apart between the two cities since losing their home in the disastrous flooding event last fall.

READ MORE: BREAKING: Entire city of Merritt under evacuation order

“My son was staying with my husband at the Best Western Hotel while I was staying with my daughter in Merritt,” said mom Roberta Heard.

She said her son Andrew just turned 30, did not have many connections in Kamloops and was not part of a hard drug scene. He died shortly after using drugs he bought off the street.

Heard is warning others that overdose tragedies can happen to anyone of all walks of life and it only takes one experimental try or recreational use of street drugs to cause death.

The opioid crisis has been claiming lives at an increasing rate since the province declared a state of emergency in 2016, affecting mostly men ages 30 to 59.

READ MORE: Kamloops family working to end stigma connected to addiction

Heard said her son was an average, friendly guy who was maintaining jobs and had plans to travel. He loved his sister, brother, nieces and nephews. He loved animals and music.

“He had his whole life ahead of him and there were so many things he wanted to do,” she said. “He was kind and generous and always wanting to help people.”

On April 24, 2022, Heard got the life-altering phone call. Her husband had arrived back at the hotel after a work shift to find their son unresponsive.

“No one wants that phone call in the middle of the night,” she said. “I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My other son and I raced over to Kamloops that night and the police were there and you can tell they had worked on him, but the coroner said he died right away.”

READ MORE: Devastated Kamloops father of fentanyl overdose victim demanding change

Heard knew her son had dabbled with marijuana, alcohol and cocaine in his past, but can only speculate on what pushed him to pick up fentanyl while in Kamloops. She believes it was the first time he tried the drug. 

“He was suffering with an identity crisis because he was confused about his sexuality,” she said. “And there was the stress of losing our home. He may have had a lot going on in his mind. He just decided to escape and bought drugs off someone.”

Heard wants the provincial and federal governments to step up and do more to prevent more illicit drug overdoses occurring by getting rid of the toxic supply and getting the dealers off the streets.

“Why are people who are selling this getting away with it,” she said. “The people feeding it to others are making money off them and signing their death certificates.”

She said the government needs to provide more resources to help people with addictions.

“There has to be more support for people who are suffering with addictions,” she said. “I go to Kamloops and see people on the streets shooting up and I feel pain for them. We need to build some kind of place where we can take these people.”

READ MORE: TERRIFIED’: The interrupted life ‘and final days of Katherine McParland

She said in the meantime she believes education and abstaining from all drugs is the only defense.

“We parents need to take a stand and get changes made before more innocent people die,” she said. “We need someone to go into middle schools and talk to kids before they even try this stuff. It doesn’t matter, you have to say no. Anything can be contaminated.”

In recent years street drugs have become tainted with powerful opioids such as fentanyl across the country, according to a 2021 publication by the government of Canada.

This is leading to a high rate of overdoses and deaths. Pills are being produced using unknown amounts of fentanyl.

Sometimes drugs that are made illegally accidently contain fentanyl when produced on surfaces and equipment contaminated with fentanyl.

You can’t see, taste or smell fentanyl, and a few grains worth of fentanyl can be enough to kill you.

READ MORE: Mother of overdose victim in favour of controversial Moira House in Kamloops

The opioid crisis has brought to light the devastating effects opioids are having on individuals, families and communities across Canada and the crisis continues to grow.

94% of opioid overdose deaths happen by accident.

“It hurts the heart as a parent to bury my child,” Heard said. “I was hoping he would get married and have kids. My heart is broken.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022