Jack Zakrewski: ‘A kind spirit’
EDWARDSVILLE — The last years of Jack Zakrewski’s life were tough. After suffering a heart attack years earlier, Zakrewski, 62, had been on disability toward the end of his life and struggled with back pain as well. “I know he was in a lot of pain, because...
Treatment centers focus of debate
WILKES-BARRE — Most everyone agrees that Luzerne County is in the grip of a deadly opioid epidemic that is killing off residents by the dozens. But when it comes to treating the very people who are dying, most everyone wants that care to happen somewhere...
Paul Sorokas: Medication for back injury led to addiction
Addiction can ruin or end a life at any age. Paul Sorokas was 75 when he died on April 1, 2017, the oldest person to die from a drug overdose in Luzerne County last year. Sorokas, a fun-loving but hard-working man known as “Bobo” who lived in...
Age is no barrier to addiction
You are never too old to suffer from addiction, especially addiction to opioids. That is the message from treatment specialists and professionals at all levels. The oldest person to die of an overdose in Luzerne County in 2017 was Paul Sorokas,...
Eric Bowman: A part of him lives on
Following alternating bouts with drug abuse and recovery, Eric Bowman’s relapse in March 2017 killed him, but brought new life to someone he never met. After the Hunlock Creek man died of a heroin overdose, one of his kidneys was transplanted in a dying...
More overdoses, more organ donations
Grieving families of some drug overdose victims are finding solace in the fact that surging deaths from the opioid epidemic have led to a record number of organ donations around the country. The Gift of Life Donor Program — which organizes all donations in Eastern...
Mariah Noon: ‘She became a totally different person’
PLYMOUTH — Mariah Noon’s body still felt warm when her fiance found her in bed the morning of Feb. 4, 2017. On the other side of the apartment, their friend Shawn was ice cold, indicating his death came first. One basement apartment. One night. Two drug...
A look at ADHD and addiction
Will medicating your child’s hyperactivity with stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall make them more susceptible to addiction as an adult? A major national study has concluded no. But the underlying attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder might make one...
Heather Hoffmaster: After pitbull attack, the pills were too powerful
Heather Hoffmaster had two kids, a steady waitressing job, her own apartment and a close-knit family that supported her. She also had a drug problem that began with painkiller prescriptions after she was mauled by a pit bull and ended with a lethal...
Gale Davis: Search for pain relief brings more pain
Gail Davis died searching for relief from her back pain, her brother believes. After prescribing powerful painkillers for a decade, the Wilkes-Barre woman’s doctors abruptly cut her off from the medication, Donald Grosz said. “At the 10-year mark, they...
NEED HELP?
IN A CRISIS
Local caseworkers for Helpline are available 24 hours a day to refer callers to resources available for those with drug and alcohol problems. Call 570-829-1341 or visit www.helpline-nepa.info.
The state has a similar program, “PA Get Help Now.” The phone number is 1-800-662-4357 (HELP).
COUNTY ASSISTANCE
The Luzerne County Drug and Alcohol Program can be reached at 570-826-8790.
For a full list of resources and treatment centers, click here.
%
of the overdose victims in 2017 in Luzerne County were under the age of 35
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