When Chilliwack乌鸦传媒檚 Kevin Sawatzky died of an overdose in the summer of 2020, Elizabeth Sawatzky was angry. Her husband of six years made one stupid and impulsive decision, and because of that she lost the love of her life. One word ran through her head endlessly.
Why?
Why would he do that? Why would he throw away his life so recklessly, and leave her alone to raise their teenaged daughter without a father?
Why?
Anger can make a person cynical and bitter and shut them off from the world. Elizabeth may have spiraled into darkness if not for the push of a button. She was at the funeral home the day Kevin was due to be cremated. Elizabeth was still very, very angry and maybe the person running the cremator recognized that because he asked her if she wanted to start the cremator.
Weird question, right? But yes. Yes she did. She was so mad at Kevin and so she stabbed that button.
乌鸦传媒淲hen you乌鸦传媒檙e so mad at somebody and you just want to punch them in the face, but you can乌鸦传媒檛 because they乌鸦传媒檙e dead, what do you do?乌鸦传媒� Elizabeth asked. 乌鸦传媒淵ou light them on fire.乌鸦传媒�
She wrote a long letter to Kevin. She took his favourite book and put concert tickets and cards and other mementos within its pages. Those two items were cremated with him, and as she watched the flames through a little window a strange thing happened. She could feel the anger leaving her body. Elizabeth remembered the love and laughs and life they shared and she found peace with three words.
I forgive you.
乌鸦传媒斺赌斺赌�-
Two-and-a-half years later, it乌鸦传媒檚 not easy for Elizabeth to talk about. There乌鸦传媒檚 a reason we don乌鸦传媒檛 often hear from the families of overdose victims, summed up in one word. Stigma. There乌鸦传媒檚 stigma around drug users, who are considered weak and selfish for doing what they do. If they die, horrible as it sounds, people say, 乌鸦传媒榃ell, they brought it on themself.乌鸦传媒�
But there乌鸦传媒檚 stigma on their family too. What did you do to cause this? What didn乌鸦传媒檛 you do that might have prevented it? Why weren乌鸦传媒檛 you a better brother/sister/mother/father/spouse? Those questions are magnified when someone 乌鸦传媒榥ormal乌鸦传媒� dies. When it乌鸦传媒檚 someone from Vancouver乌鸦传媒檚 downtown eastside, it乌鸦传媒檚 assumed that person came from a trauma-filled upbringing and this was the inevitable result. When it乌鸦传媒檚 a lawyer or banker or teacher, there must be a reason for what they did.
When Elizabeth and Kevin乌鸦传媒檚 mother, Charlene Vermeer, were approached by Kwantlen Polytechnic University to tell their story in ,乌鸦传媒� they didn乌鸦传媒檛 hesitate. Elizabeth viewed the podcast as a 乌鸦传媒渨eird academic thing乌鸦传媒� that not a lot of people were going to listen to.
But when they were contacted by your friendly neighborhood Chilliwack Progress writer, that was different, because of the stigma.
乌鸦传媒淭his is harder because this is my home community,乌鸦传媒� Elizabeth admitted. 乌鸦传媒淚 am really conflicted because part of me feels I need to put it out there and use my voice, but another part of me feels like putting this out there to my community is such a personal thing. But a friend of mine said to me, 乌鸦传媒榃hat if it saves a life?乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚f one mother doesn乌鸦传媒檛 have to bury their child, it will be worth it,乌鸦传媒� Charlene said.
乌鸦传媒斺赌斺赌�-
Kevin was 45 years old the day he died on June 29, 2020. He and a colleague from work decided to get high together.
Kevin had a history with drugs. Years ago, when he lived in Vancouver, he乌鸦传媒檇 been addicted to heroin. He worked very hard to get off it, and Elizabeth made it a condition of their being together that if he ever started using again, she乌鸦传媒檇 be gone. As far as she knew, he乌鸦传媒檇 been clean for a long time.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 know if it was a complete one-off. Was there stuff I should have been looking for? Was I not paying attention?乌鸦传媒� she still wonders. 乌鸦传媒淎t the same time, I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 live my relationship with him wondering if he was using substances again. If you乌鸦传媒檙e trusting your spouse, you shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have to be checking all the time, even though in hindsight, maybe I should have been. Should I have been secretly drug testing him? I don乌鸦传媒檛 know.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 all whys and what-ifs.乌鸦传媒�
During his darkest days of addiction, Kevin survived several near-death overdoses, and Elizabeth believes he felt a sense of invincibility. It was a Monday. She figured he was bored and he thought he乌鸦传媒檇 be OK if he was safe about it. He was doing drugs with someone else, with a Naloxone kit nearby, and he assumed the drugs were from a safe supply.
That was the fatal mistake.
According to a coroner乌鸦传媒檚 report, the drugs in his body were a toxic mix of crystal meth and fentanyl. The co-worker lost consciousness for several hours. By the time she came out of it, he was dead.
According to the B.C. Coroner乌鸦传媒檚 Service, Kevin is now part of a sad statistic. He was one of 1,774 overdose deaths across B.C. in 2020, followed by 2,306 in 2021 and 2,272 in 2022. An average of 6.2 people per day are dying.
乌鸦传媒斺赌斺赌�-
乌鸦传媒淚t was like it is in the movies, where the police come to your house and tell you what happened and you start screaming hysterically,乌鸦传媒� Elizabeth says. 乌鸦传媒淚t was exactly like that.乌鸦传媒�
She remembers that night vividly. The knock on the door and the police officers on the doorstep. She thought Kevin had been in a car accident. When they said overdose, she felt shocked. It was so unexpected she couldn乌鸦传媒檛 even process what was happening.
乌鸦传媒淚 was sad and angry later, but at the time, I was just numb,乌鸦传媒� she recalled.
Charlene called it the worst day of her life and admits she wanted to hit Elizabeth when she arrived with the devastating news that Kevin was dead. Two years later she still struggles. Charlene didn乌鸦传媒檛 get to push the button on the cremator and have that moment of closure. There are times when she still feels very angry, when a bad memory comes back like a tidal wave. Like any parent who乌鸦传媒檚 lost a child, she cries easily. But Charlene has learned that happy memories protect her from the horrible ones.
乌鸦传媒斺赌斺赌�-
Kevin乌鸦传媒檚 death has left a void that can never be filled, but life does go on and he is a part of it. Throughout the hour long interview for this story his ashes sat on a nearby coffee table, listening in. There are so many things Elizabeth wanted to do with him, and she乌鸦传媒檚 forging on. He乌鸦传媒檚 been to their cabin. He flew with her to Calgary and he recently joined her on a trip to Hell乌鸦传媒檚 Gate.
乌鸦传媒淗e fits perfectly in a cup holder,乌鸦传媒� she laughed.
Charlene took him to Jamaica and Elizabeth has videos from friends who乌鸦传媒檝e taken 乌鸦传媒榩ieces乌鸦传媒� of Kevin to scatter in places around the world.
They are trying very hard to move on, and Elizabeth very much uses humour to mask pain that will never go away. If he were to return for just a few minutes, she says she乌鸦传媒檇 tell him she loved him, and she misses him.
乌鸦传媒淎nd I don乌鸦传媒檛 know what I乌鸦传媒檓 going to do with the rest of my life without him here.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒斺赌斺赌�-
Elizabeth and Charlene are sharing this story because they want to spare others from what they乌鸦传媒檝e endured.
Elizabeth has replayed Kevin乌鸦传媒檚 death over and over in her mind and she乌鸦传媒檚 concluded there乌鸦传媒檚 nothing she could have done to prevent it. But now, she says she can be a voice to help others and advocate for change. Elizabeth and Charlene have become passionate advocates for controversial health measures like a safe drug supply and safe injection sites.
Elizabeth believes that if Kevin had done drugs in a place where he was being supervised, he乌鸦传媒檇 probably still be alive. If the drugs came from a safe supply, he乌鸦传媒檇 almost certainly still be alive.
The word 乌鸦传媒榚nabling乌鸦传媒� is thrown out as a counter argument to these things, and Elizabeth and Kevin talked about this before he died. Speaking from experience he told her that without a safe supply, you spend every day 乌鸦传媒榙oing the grind,乌鸦传媒� looking for money however you can get it, then looking for your dealer.
乌鸦传媒淚f you乌鸦传媒檙e doing those things all day, every day, you have no time to do anything else, how can we expect those people to attend a program or service or access resources?乌鸦传媒� Elizabeth asked.
乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 their sole purpose, figuring out how to get their next fix,乌鸦传媒� Charlene added.
The other argument is cost. Using tax dollars to supply drugs to drug users isn乌鸦传媒檛 a popular thing.
乌鸦传媒淎nd that乌鸦传媒檚 true. It does come out of our pockets,乌鸦传媒� Charlene conceded. 乌鸦传媒淏ut so does the ambulance ride, and the police and medical staff that are out there. The Naloxone kits we乌鸦传媒檙e paying for and the overloaded hospitals. You乌鸦传媒檙e paying for it when your insurance goes up because you were robbed by someone trying to supply their habit. There are so many things we乌鸦传媒檙e already paying for, so why not pay to save a life?乌鸦传媒�
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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