Support needed for overdose survivors living with brain damage, B.C. doctors say

published on August 28, 2019 by Zak Vescera in Vancouver Sun

It’s been three years since Valerie Wilson’s son suffered a brain injury following a drug overdose.

The Port Moody mother calls her son “fearless”. He was an ironworker by trade who taught himself how to ride a two-wheel bike as a toddler.

But the overdose affected his sense of balance, speech, and temperament, Wilson said, leaving him unable to pursue his former career and some of his favourite pastimes.

“He used to love high places. Now he has a fear of heights because he tends to fall over,” she said. “He lashes out at people but without the intent to be harmful — he’ll get incredibly angry about things that make no sense to be angry about.”…

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