Quebec teens brought Naloxone to a party, just in case. Then they saved a girl's life
A teenage girl from Quebec's Eastern Townships survived an opioid overdose last month thanks to two of her classmates.
Highschoolers Samuel Vincent and Thomas Roberge were at the right place at the right time -- with the right equipment.
"At first I thought she was [a little too] drunk, and at a point she just blacked out, she didn't answer me at all, she didn't move at all, and her heart stopped working," Roberge recounted to CTV News. "At this moment, I called my best friend to go get some Naloxone."
The pair had decided to bring a Naloxone kit with them to a party, suspecting some people would be taking drugs.
"I got a voice in my head that said it might be drugs -- opioids, so fentanyl, codeine, heroin, morphine -- so I decided to not take a chance," Roberge said, referring to the moment he realized the girl was in serious danger.
The effect was immediate, with her heartbeat returning as the boys waited for an ambulance.
For Roberge, the biggest relief came in the middle of the night.
"At two o'clock in the morning I got a text that said 'thank you, because you saved my life.'"
So how does a 16-year-old become so prepared? It turns out Roberge and Vincent took a first aid elective at their high school in Granby, Collège Mont-Sacré-Coeur.
School staff praised the pair's quick action.
"If young people are better equipped to face situations like this, that's what we want," said the school's vice-principal, David Choinière.
Naloxone kits are widely available for free at drugstores across Canada. The instructions are straight forward, and use of the medication is now included in basic first-aid training.
With files from Véronique Dubé at Noovo Info.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Speaker kicks Poilievre out of Commons over unparliamentary comments
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period today.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes related to the arrest of an NBA player that triggered a public outcry.
Witness details deadly wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A driver who witnessed a wrong-way police pursuit on Highway 401 moments before a fatal crash said he was hoping the chase would have been called off before lives were lost.