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Season 13, Episode 3

Ryan

Age: 23
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Addiction: Heroin, Benzos
What’s memorable: Dude’s got some serious rage issues, gets violent when his parents don’t give him what he wants, which is drugs or money for drugs. The equally addicted but in-denial mother, the oddly passive dad, the functional sister who seems to be the only one who fully sees what’s going on. And holy cow is her mother awful to her.

Official Synopsis: As a teenager, Ryan was on the fast track to professional BMX racing until his mother’s suicide attempt sidelined his life. Ryan turned to drugs to deal with the trauma and silence around it. Now, at 23, he lives in his parents basement using and dealing heroin, enabled by his parents’ inability to face or confront reality.

Original Air Date: June 2013
Interventionist:  Jeff

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Comments

  1. gg

    what happened to him? the ending wasn’t very positive

    1. Gregory Moore

      Yes, that was an oddly vague ending. I wonder how this family did? I completely felt for the sister…that mother’s a piece of work. One thing is totally clear: That family has some of the most toxic interactions I’ve ever seen. I was really rooting for Ryan to succeed…I do hope he’s on a better path today…

      1. lindsay dunn

        He’s much better. He lives a couple hours away from louisville with me (I’m his girlfriend) and he’s working and happy 🙂

      2. adkmtnman

        Thats soooo awesome! I really felt bad for his sister. She had a lot on her shoulders!

      3. snugs

        Lindsay, that’s so great to hear. What a shame they kicked him out of rehab when he returned for testing positive for marijuana! Tobacco and marijuana should not count!

      4. Debbie

        I felt the same way..really felt bad for the sister..I really hope the family is doing better

    2. laura

      So happy he is doing well lindsay. I hope his family is doing well too. Thanks for the update.

  2. Sarah Thomas

    Yeah, her mother is awful to her, I am actually in her exact position at this point, but good for her, being a single mother to two kids is hard with no support, and she still has goals and ambitions and trying to do right. I bet shes a great mom!

  3. Tessa

    That’s great to hear he’s doing well! I’ve been binge-watching episodes on Netflix/Amazon as well as being a fan since the series started, and I can honestly say this was one of maybe 5 episodes where I literally held my breath with hope at the end… His mom’s disease, how their parents treat them, their whole background – quite relevant to me. Keep up the good work, guys!

  4. Drunkenatheist

    Am I the only one who thinks “Katherine” from next week’s episode might be Ryan’s sister? I have been trying to find a still of her to compare it to the commercials they have been running tonight.

    1. Kat R.

      She really does, and I read a blurb online that said she became a meth addict after a botched epidural with her second child, which would line up. (His sister was pregnant with her second child during Ryan’s episode). But the family doesn’t look like Ryan’s and I didn’t think they really had accents. I guess we will be in suspense till Sunday.

      1. Kat R.

        It’s not her, I think the blonde girl in the commercial was Mindie. There are two addicts in this week’s episode. I just saw a new preview clip up on the Intervention facebook page of Katherine and she is a totally different girl.

  5. Samantha R.

    Yikes! The family dynamic in this home felt a lot like my own and it was actually uncomfortable watching it. My mother abuses pain killers (with no excuse), her and one of my brothers trade drugs, my father enables her in sick ways, and I get caught in the crossfire when I try to be the voice of reason.

    Ryan was hard to watch and I hope he is doing better, but like others have said, the person that I really felt for was his sister. It was unbelievable how the mother treated her! And the dad just stood by and watched his wife break She (Katherine) is so well-spoken and knows exactly what she is talking about, but nobody hears her. It made me heartsick to watch this, and I hope that she is doing well now and got away from some of that negativity.

    1. Kat R.

      I’m so sorry for all that you’ve been through with your family. That just sounds like hell.

  6. RMAy

    ryan glad to hear, from the girl that said she’s your girlfriend in the paragraph above, that you rose above that lethal lifestyle. And glad somebody gave you some breaks/chances in life. Feeling too much is a very hard way to go through life, your concern for others in your family esp your mom, was incredible. Smart and sensitive people have it much harder in this world – its all about building the psychic armor isnt it – continued good health and live to be old!

  7. Tamsin

    So glad that Ryan is doing well.

    I was really upset to read that the program in Arizona kicked him out for testing positive for marijuana. That was really, really shitty of them.

    So proud of Ryan. Getting off of benzos is hard, I had to do it when I was 18. Xanax is a horrible drug.

    1. momtojsb

      How was that shitty? Even though I am one that feels that marijuana shouldn’t be illegal, it’s obvious that one of the rules of the facility was to NOT partake in ANY substances while being a patient and he broke said rule.

      Rules are rules and a definitive part of life and if a person is allowed to break a rule here and there just because then how the hell will they ever learn to be responsible?

      Also, and hate me for it if you will, but even though the entire family has issues (who the hell doesn’t), Ryan came across as nothing more than a coddled “mama’s boy” (by his own admission).

      1. Sofia.

        I agree it was totally the wrong thing to do, while at the same time saying that “the family needs to be patient with Ryan, there is still a lot of work to be done.” Pot is the least of what he COULD have done once he got home, and he if he was still so vulnerable they should have cut him a break for basically self-medicating. Thats my opinion.

      2. Randi

        I don’t think he should have been kicked out of the program for marijuana, but I do agree with u that it should stay illegal… I was addicted to prescription opiates and benzos, and had to go to a methadone clinic to get clean ( and yes I just said that I take methadone from a clinic and still consider myself clean) and xanax is the hardest thing to stop… I was on opiates for 14 yrs and xanax for about 12, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done; and that’s with the methadone… I did try rehab and suboxone first; methadone was a last resort. But now I live a VERY normal life. I have the maximum amount of take homes u can have in the state of Indiana( meaning I only go to the clinic a few times a month, instead of everyday)… it really bothers me that intervention doesn’t give anyone a choice of the type of recovery they have to indure. The relapse rate is 98% for most ppl in ANY type of recovery. And if they would stop making ppl feel like a failure for having to use methadone, suboxone and/or subutex, more ppl would complete the programs they offer…
        Sorry I got off the subject… at the clinic I go to u cannot use marijuana and stay in treatment there either… no kind of mind altering substance is ok… not even alcohol and it’s legal to buy.. but if ur saying ur in treatment, or recovery, u cannot use ANYTHING… so it doesn’t really matter if marijuana becomes legal or not ( even though I’m firmly in the should not belief) u still CANNOT use it and consider urself in recovery. There’s always a huge debate in the groups at my clinic about y u can’t use it and stay in treatment there, or even receive takehomes… but to me it’s totally self-explanatory. I had to come off all benzos for extreme anxiety disorder, bipolar 1 disorder and agoraphobia to stay eligible to remain in my clinic. So I think that it explains it completely. NO MIND ALTERING SUBSTANCES AT ALL, whether legal or not…
        And finally, maintaining ur recovery on methadone IS NOT THE SAME AS USING, AND ITS NOT TRADING ONE DRUG FOR ANOTHER… I like to think most ppl have some level of intelligence and can understand that everyone’s recovery CANNOT be the same, bc everyone’s addiction is not the same, but in reality most ppl r ignorant and choose to remain that way bc they r completely close-minded and have not lived in this horrible dark reality… and I hope they never do or have a child or loved one that opens their eyes to it… so pls do not judge or criticize what u see on intervention. Ur only seeing a small portion of what these poor souls have had to live through…

    2. Sofia.

      Me too! I found this site bc I was so uoset I did a search. So glad to hear he used the tools he got i the first 6 mos at least, and got on with life away from that toxic stew of a family. Except for Katherine of course. And if looks could kill Kaherine’s Mom was murderess!!

  8. A

    Just rewatched this episode. I feel so badly for the sister. The mother is a real piece of work. I hope she got out of that house and is happy now.

  9. Zay

    Wow that mother was just horrendous to such a hard working, levelheaded, and focused daughter. I’m glad to hear Ryan is doing better and hopefully the daughter is in a better familial situation.

  10. Chris Wiley

    Did Ryan really get sober? I’m a recovering addict so don’t bullshit me please!?!?!

  11. Leeann

    Ryan,

    I hope that you are doing well. You seem to a very outgoing young man. I am sure that you will do well in any career of your liking. I felt for your family because its just like mines.

    Thank You for being brave enough to share your story with the world. I ADMIRE YOUR COURAGE.

    BE WELL.

  12. Tiffany

    Dear ryan. Hope you’re doing well and things are looking up for you

  13. Elizabeth

    I also was holding my breath and hoping he would stay clean. Sometimes it takes awhile and sometimes treatment fails but the right motivation can cause one to stop on their own.

  14. Katie

    Actually what they said about Ryan at the end was he smoked pot at home and tested positive for drugs. Either way though getting to visit his family was a privilege and treatment is very expensive. If after 120 days of very expensive treatment someone can’t follow the cardinal rule, spend the resources on someone who needs the help and wants it more badly than Ryan did. Not bashing Ryan, I pray that he’s really doing great and staying sober, he sure didn’t win the lottery with his parents but there’s only so much free treatment to go around. His twin apparently got all the backbone in that family.

  15. Chris

    So I searched for ryan to see how he’s doing , it looks like In 2015 he lost his best friend Johnny to a opiate overdose (the one he was talking to on the phone when he walked out of his intervention on the show ) also I found a blog his sister has and ryan’s Facebook … it seems he has been on some sort of substance off and on since intervention . What a bummer I really had high hopes for this family . It looks as though Lindsay is no longer with Ryan and that their relationship was vary short lived .

    1. Hector

      What is the URL for Katherine’s blog? And Ryan’s Facebook page? Thanks in advance.

  16. Rm

    Hi all, I truly felt for Katherine. I got curious and searched for her and any updates on Ryan. Found her old blog and his fb.

    http://katherinegilkey.blogspot.com/?m=1

    https://m.facebook.com/ryan.eddie.33

  17. Kate

    I keep reading everyone commenting how they feel sorry for the sister and she’s the only sane one in the family. This isn’t true. She has mental issues as well and gets it from her mother. I used to be good friends with Katherine and can tell you firsthand she is a spoiled brat at times. I don’t know much about the father of her first child but I do know the father of her second child is a great guy who does see his daughter and from what I know he pays child support faithfully. That’s more than I can say for the father of my two children. She’s not doing everything on her own as she tried to say in the show. I moved to Lexington a year ago but last I knew Ryan was doing good and so was his mother. Even though Katherine and I do not speak anymore I do wish her and the family the best. I feel sorry for Ryan’s father. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place in this crazy family for a while.

  18. Irion

    That poor father… he took so much abuse. Forgiveness is a two-way street (and forgiving your parents is a passageway into adulthood). Hope both of these “kids” grew up, moved out, and found lives of their own.

  19. LK

    This is a little embarrassing but Ryan reminded me of this guy I used to hook up with who was an adderral addict. That guy’s mom and dad were similar to Ryan’s parents as well (the mom was a disabled alcoholic and the dad was passive and basically ignored the problem by hiding away in his room). Unsurprisingly, I did like Ryan, he seemed like a charismatic, interesting guy and would be fun to hang out with if he weren’t so fucked up on drugs. His anger was disturbing but it seemed like a symptom of his addiction that would go away if he were properly treated. I hope he’s doing better today.