Georgia mom who lost son to drug overdose speaks out on opioid crisis
HOUSTON - A loving mother is speaking out on a very personal family tragedy to try to help others.
Cammie Wolf Rice did everything in her power to help her son, but after losing him to a drug overdose, she has made it her life's mission to help other families.
"My son Christopher had a health crisis and major surgery and we went home with 90 Oxycontins, and he became addicted with one prescription. Then, I lost him February 26, 2016, after fighting substance misuse for over 15 years," explains Cammie.
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It was an enormous loss and Cammie has done everything in her power to raise awareness, to help prevent other families from dealing with something so devastating.
"Prevention, prevention, prevention. We need to understand to ask doctors questions! If you have to be on an opioid, knowing how fast you taper off is so important, because you can become addicted with one prescription," stated Cammie. "Ask for pain alternatives! Even with your dentist - you don't need Percocet for wisdom tooth extraction, so let's ask for alternatives and understand the dangers of opioids."
Cammie has done research to find out how easy it is for people to suffer from addiction. "I don't think people realize 80% of heroin users started with a prescription, so it's critical to understand and be a health advocate for yourself, and most importantly, your children. It hijacks your brain," she warned.
She started a foundation in her son's name and wrote a book about the warning signs and prevention tips.
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"I really just want to try to save lives with Christopher Wolf Crusade. We've developed a new position in health care in hospitals to be your Care Coach, and I wrote the book so that I can reach the masses. I talk about my journey and it helps you think about your own journey," says Cammie. "I have a QR code in my book with resources for people, a resource library for people. Then, I get in depth about the journey that I went through with Christopher and now my journey and what I'm doing in prevention. I want to stop it before it ever starts."
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Cammie says we have coaches for everything, except for when you're dealing with a health crisis.
"So, basically this position is based on everything that Christopher didn't have and I didn't have as a caretaker, and my goal is to have these lifecare specialists across the country in hospitals. We've done clinical trials, we know this works," states Cammie.
For more information on the Christopher Wolf Crusade, click here.