Father Becomes Advocate For Heroin-Reversal Drug

(CBS) — It was a heartbreaking end to a fight against heroin addiction.

Twenty-year-old Nick Ryan of Naperville overdosed last Friday.

His father says a new drug could have prevented Nick’s death.

And as CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez reports, on Thursday he trained parents and addicts how to use Naloxone.

Nick Ryan loved excitement — skateboarding, skydiving — and like his dad, heroin.

Tim Ryan, just 21 months clean, survived what his son could not.

When Nick stumbled, “instead of digging deeper or grasping a recovery program, he’d say, ‘You know what? Forget it,’ and he’d turn back to the drugs,” his father says.

And last Friday, while at a friend’s house, Nick overdosed.

“Heroin addiction takes you to a whole ‘nother level. You have no morals, you have no values. I stole my wife’s wedding ring and pawned it,” Tim Ryan says.

But Tim is surviving and Thursday joined parents and addicts in a church meeting room in Naperville to demonstrate a life-saving new drug.

Naloxone reverses the effects of opiates like heroin. Tim says it’s not a license to use but can offer friends and family members peace of mind — and a chance to save a life.

“If my son’s friends would have had this, possibly it could have saved his life,” the father says.

He says with 16 heroin overdoses in Naperville alone this year, Naloxone could be a game-changer.