Father overdoses on heroin in attempt to force drug addict son to visit rehab
'If you won't stop, I will do the same as you,' the father told his son
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A father overdosed on heroin in an attempt to shock his drug-addicted son into going rehab.
Sergey Gnatovskiy, 45, risked serious illness to inject the illegal, class A drug into his arm after he found his son Maykl’s stash in his home in New York City.
The 23-year-old has been taking heroin since the age of 15. His mother kicked him out of the family home as a teenager, and he has since lived with Sergey.
The father from Sheepshead Bay in the borough of Brooklyn told his son that if he is “not going to stop, I will do the same as you do,” he revealed in an interview with the New York Post.
Maykl discovered his father’s unconscious body on the floor of their home.
Realising that his fathered had overdosed, he performed CPR on him and used Narcan nasal spray to bring him around and save his life before calling the emergency services. Sergey has been forced to use the spray on his son four times in the past.
Maykl has since said he “definitely” wants to go to rehab.
The number of people dying from heroin overdoses in Brooklyn has spiked from 188 in 2013 to 258 in 2015, according to official statistics.
Heroin addiction is notoriously difficult to recover from as the body becomes reliant on the drug to function normally. Withdrawal symptoms can include severe nausea, sweating, shaking, muscle spasms and constipation, and subside a week after of quitting the drug. However, post-acute symptoms can in some cases last for years.
Injecting intravenous drugs with an unsterilised needle also leaves a user vulnerable to Hepatitis and HIV/Aids.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments