a grande prairie woman is calling on the alberta government to declare a state of public health emergency in response to the ongoing opioid crisis following the death of her brother last year.
avalon heemskerk’s brother, sebastian heemskerk, died on june 22, 2021, at the age of 22 years old. he was using methamphetamine and toxicology tests determined it was laced with fentanyl when he overdosed.
“my brother struggled immensely while he was alive with mental health issues, physical issues,” she said in a recent interview.
“my parents advocated for him a ton and he kept getting rejected from programs because either his mental health needs were too high or his physical needs were too high because he had a brain avm (arteriovenous malformation), he had type-1
diabetes. he had suffered on and off from epilepsy.”
as he moved into adulthood, he became sicker and suffered from depression. he eventually turned to drugs to self-medicate.
in february 2020, he was sober and preparing for surgery to address the brain avm but it was cancelled in march 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic.
sebastian heemskerk died on june 22, 2021, in grande prairie at the age of 22 years old of an overdose. photo supplied.
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“he spiralled and fell into horrible addiction and then eventually, he passed,” heemskerk, said. “after he passed, i discovered that during the week he passed, five other people had passed in our community.”