American teenager takes pain pill and dies of fentanyl overdose

Amid an unprecedented wave of fentanyl disguised as other substances, a single unprescribed pill can be deadly. This harsh reality hit close to home for a New York family who lost their daughter in 2022. Fox News reported that Paige Gibbons, a 19-year-old freshman at Hobart and William Smith Colleges who aspired to become a doctor, believed that She was taking lessons. a Percocet with his friends on November 20 of the same year.

“She was at a friend's house, her parents were home and her and her friend were going to take a Percocet, which she thought was a Percocet,” said her father, David Gibbons of Pittsford, New York. “Unbeknownst to them, it wasn’t Percocet, it was 100% fentanyl.”

At 1:05 p.m. that day, David and his wife Kate had their lives irrevocably changed when a sheriff's deputy knocked on their door to inform them that their daughter had overdosed.

“It was the loudest scream I had heard in my life. I thought it was an intruder or something, because why was she screaming?” David spoke about his wife's reaction to this unthinkable news.

Paige was with two friends when she overdosed. The outlet reported that one of them purchased the pills on social media.

One of his friends almost died, David said in an interview with New York Office of Substance Abuse Services and Supports (OASAS). The other, who chose not to take the pill, “witnessed one of the worst things a teenager can witness in their life,” David said.

“Maybe she trusted her friend or someone she knew,” Paige's mother Kate said. “We just saw her as a little naive in that regard. Unfortunately, it cost her her life.”

Paige's death came as a complete shock to her parents, who never viewed her as a troublemaker or drug user. This perception was later confirmed by conversations with his friends.

“One mistake was obviously Paige's worst mistake of her entire life,” David said. “We don’t want her to be judged for the worst mistake she made.”

“It caused havoc in our lives,” David said. “The milestones I hoped to achieve – a first grandbaby, going to a wedding, graduating from college, helping other people – none of those things are going to happen for Paige.”

Paige's parents said she aspired to be a doctor and “had a goal of making a positive impact on the world.”

Although she died young, Paige left a lasting impression at Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, New York. There, she taught her classmates CPR specifically for women. Since the school only had male models, Paige used her own money to purchase female models for her classmates to practice on.

With her dreams tragically cut short, Paige's parents are now sharing her story in hopes that she can continue to help others, potentially sparing another family the heartbreak she endured.

Their story is one of many featured in “Addiction: The Next Step,” a 30-minute film created by OASAS to raise awareness of this growing problem among New York residents.

“I can’t believe we’re still hearing about people going through the exact same situation,” Kate said. “I want to shout it from the mountaintops and make sure everyone knows: expect this to happen to you; expect you to die if you try this.”

“Think about this when you're deciding whether to take a pill or medication that's been introduced to you. Do you want to see your mother's face crying to you?”

“It doesn’t discriminate,” David said. “Socio-economically, race, religion. You take a pill and you have the potential to die that night.”

Fentanyl is more than 50 times more potent than heroin.