Opioid Illness Narrative

Jenevieve Eberly
Dr. Waller-Peterson
FYWS: Illness Narratives
November, 29, 2017
Opioid Epidemic Lecture
On October 25th I attended the Janet A. Sipple lecture on South Campus. The lecture was based on the opioid epidemic. There were most of the nursing majors, other health majors, and many professionals from the community and beyond that attended the lecture. The lecture was given by a professor from the University of Pennsylvania. She did a study on opioid and all of its affects and why people develop an addiction.
The lecture was very interesting. I was amazed by how many treatments there were for opioid overdoses. They are cutting edge and have saved thousands of people already. The professor was interesting and presented points that

I had not thought about before. She talked of how relapses occur often when it comes to opioid use. She shared personal stories. One I thought related the most was a story about one of her patients who came to her and went through her trial study. The trial helped to rehab the young girl but soon after she was out of rehab she relapsed. She relapsed because her boyfriend was a user of opioid and she was exposed to the substance. Like the professor said it is important to have a healthy environment or patients will almost always fall back into their own habits.
During the lecture I learned that opioid overdosing is a disease. It is a disease just like diabetes and anything else is a disease. People can no longer control themselves once they have become addicted and therefore it is a disease. They need help to maintain it. The lecture was interesting and very educational. I appreciated it because it was a lecture that involved my major, nursing, and gave me a better understanding of the opioid epidemic which has been impacting our country greatly.