Season 4, Episode 4
Brooke
Age: 26
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Addiction: Pain meds & muscle relaxers
What’s Memorable: Poor Brooke. Such a sad story. She’s in unbearable physical pain EVERYDAY and wants so badly for her family to understand that, and they just don’t. All they see is an addict that inconveniences them and requires too much attention. It’s hard to watch how horribly they treat her and how much emotional pain it causes her. The intervention, God I cried so hard.
Update: Brooke died of an overdose on December 21, 2014. Condolences to her family and loved ones. Read Obituary
Official synopsis: Brooke, 26, was a beautiful teenager with a magnetic personality. An elite gymnast on the cheerleading squad, she looked forward to a successful and athletic life. But tragedy struck in her senior year when she was crippled by Still’s disease, an early form of rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctors prescribed narcotics to ease her pain, but Brooke soon became addicted. Her heartbroken family has sought new treatments to help Brooke, but she denies she’s an addict. Now her family has turned in desperation to their last hope–an intervention.
Original Air Date: January 2008
Interventionist: Ken
There are comments here with people surprised that people do both opiates and meth. And many say meth is their DOC. The fentanyl and heroine is really strong and makes you nod and more often sleep. By doing meth it keeps them awake while using the opiate of choice. It’s doing a speedball which is heroine and cocaine in any form. The most dangerous part of the actual speedball in one syringe meaning both H and cocaine are in the same needle so the heart attack can come from the heart on meth or respiratory failure from H. Or both at the same time. It’s quick and I don’t know if they can fix it with Narcan. If you add muscle relaxers it’s called the holy trinity. It’s a respiratory failure for sure if you take one too many pills. Most addicts these days are polysubstance abusers and alcohol can really mess with that entire combo. Most addicts will drink to take edge off. It’s a cornucopia of evil.
I’ve been trying to watch this episode for so long and wow. The way she’s shaking and the fear in her eyes during the intervention shattered my heart. I don’t think I’ve cried watching this show before and I was balling. Sweet beautiful Brooke I hope you’re at peace and no longer suffering anymore.
Since no one has brought this up yet, I will: The clinic Brooke went to on “Intervention,” Bay Recovery Centers in San Diego, whose
Medical Director, Dr. Jerry Rand, was at Brooke’s intervention, was raided by the DEA. I never found out what happened with the case. I used to follow such cases from sites that sometimes skewed pro-accused-doctors/anti-DEA; not because I endorsed all of their takes (quite the opposite at times), but because they often had the scoop on case details as they unfolded. Sometimes it can be hard to know what is happening/has happened after a DEA raid, as cases can drag on or get closed with no real news stories popping up in a search. Anyhow, I never found out what happened with Dr. Rand ,et al. If anyone knows, please share.
I do wonder if this in any way made it difficult for Brooke’s later treatment. Sometimes patients have difficulty finding continued care if they were known to be patients at a DEA-raided clinic. This is pure speculation. Given the presumed number of years from her care in San Diego to when it was raided, any issues she had with care was probably not related. It is very sad she died. When the news broke, I was one of many who wondered the CoD, and one of her sister’s replied. It became widely known not long after. Some of the misinformation about chronic, intractable pain in these comments is disheartening to see. Some people really view it as black snd white: that if one has OUD and severe chronic pain, they don’t deserve opioid therapy. While there are many treatments for chronic pain, some people really require opioid analgesia to treat it. It’s the same for people who use opioids 100% nonmedically; some benefit from opioid-assisted-treatment. “Sobriety” is not the only “right way” to be in recovery for OUD. Brooke passing away doesn’t negate that. We don’t know all the details.
Anyhow, very sad outcome. I see Pluto won’t run her main episode–which I thought happens with deaths–but curiously they’ll play the update episode she shared with Chad. Another death was allowed on Pluto too… Ben. Perhaps they’ll show episodes with a decedent if they share with someone else, like Ben did with Josh. Anyway, RIP Brooke. RIP Brooke’s mom. I hope the family has found peace.
Brooke used to have a blog:https://web.archive.org/web/20120206001551/http://brookintervention.wordpress.com/
Here’s something she said that meant be of interest: “My sisters are really great people. On the intervention show they were misread and everything that they said was edited to make them sound bad. Yes, my dad is a wonderful man. He would do anything for his family.”
I’ve been watching all these shows again. Why is hers not even on the app? It goes from episode 3 to 5 on season 4. My heart goes out to all dealing with addiction. A lot of those with addiction have had some horrible trauma in their life.
does anyone have a current link to watch this ep? i cant find it anywhere online
miss you so much brooke shealynn is 12 now you died when she was 5 she talks about you all the time we are both from Oklahoma but lived and was roommates in San Diego miss u
I have to say Ken freaking NAILED this intervention. I have new respect for him. He may be one of my favorites now.
I could not STAND her family, particularly her sisters’ treatment of her. Absolutely appalling. Rest in peace sweet girl.
I just want Brooke’s family to know I messaged her many years ago and she answered me back and it changed my whole life. My heart broke in a thousand pieces when I learned she was gone. She was a beautiful soul and she’ll forever remain in my heart!! God only takes the best 💔
First im sorry to all family and loved ones. Brooke’s story really hit home w/ me my mother had alot of the same issues tons of physical pain and years of addiction that she didn’t go looking for. Its hard for people to understand including me and I’ve had my own issues w addiction and I still couldn’t relate because just like my mom im sure Brooke was in a never ended battle damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I dont know I just hope family and friends can open their hearts and ears to any loved one in this state and try be there and understanding deep down no addict sets out in life to become an addict. Once again I am sorry for all Brooke’s family and friends she really seemed like a sweet lovely person
Such a complicated case. Mind you, she had legitimate pain issues and during this epoch Big Pharma was all about over prescribing.
She IS in terrible pain and her family is so condescending and hostile. No sympathy from people who should display the most.
I do think she was taking too much but she was in significant pain and doctor prescribed. That justifies it.
Rest in power. Sweet girl.
To clarify I meant justifies it in Brooke’s mind that this will help her pain.
You can watch this episode here:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ubbpu
Thanks for posting. This link still works. I’m able to watch all the episodes on A&E, but for some reason this one is not available- there is no S4E4. I wonder if they delete episodes if the interventionee dies?
Yah that’s common practice, and not just for A&E, although there are several addicts who’ve passed away (usually the recent ones) whose episodes are still readily available, such as. Brian, Corrine, Lauren, and Ben.
Her dad Dowe is still alive. I was a cheerleader with her in 1999 in Ft Gibson, went to school with all three girls, Brittany was more of a band kid while Breanna and Brooke were cheerleaders. BreeAnn was a bully then, Brooke was always sweet. Dowe and Patti divorced a few years ago, that is why he is not in the obituary. So sad for it to end this way.
Sadly, both of her parents have also passed away. https://muskogeenow.com/deaths?f=deaths&obit=patricia-ann-boulter-1548403200
Correction to above: is Brooke’s father still with us? He’s not mentioned in above obituary..and the other person I found with the same name is Snr..
He is listed on the obituary. Read it again.
This is wrong – I apologize for the error – please see my other post below. Thank you.
Correction to my post down below too. My mistake.
I’m going by experience only and am going to assume the same happened here. Usually when a person divorces, there is no mention of a spouse. So given that he’s not mentioned here, whether it be dead or alive, I’m going to go by my experiences. Doesn’t mean I’m right because everybody does things differently. But throughout all my years of going to funerals (and I have a HUGE family and good amount of friends) I’ve seen it this way and yes, the spouse was omitted due to divorce.
It should say “above” and not below.
“Page cannot be found” 🥺. Her parents were young to pass away!
I would love to read that info.
brooke was so sweet. i hope she is at peace now. on another note, i was snooping around facebook and brooke’s mother died in january of 2019. apparently there was a falling out in the family. breeann & her brother scott vs the rest of the family. i don’t know what happened but they hadn’t seen each other in years i believe. the courts were involved as they were trying to see breeann’s kids, but didn’t seem to suceed. breeann wasn’t allowed to visit her mother in the hospital without permission but apparently she went anyway and was able to say goodbye. the mother didn’t want breeann and scott at her funeral and wanted the police to enforce that. this is part of breeann’s post: “So now, after negotiating and downright begging, my brother and I are allowed to attend our mother’s funeral. We have our own viewing time before “the family” and we are not allowed to be recognized as family. We can’t sit with the family or speak to them. We can’t grieve with the family or celebrate our mother with them as a family.” apparently the father still wants nothing to do with breeann and her brother. i mean WOW. idk what happened but this sounds tragic. it’s sad that her mom died before they could make amends. and the family still doesn’t want to heal the rift despite one person already dying. this is a lesson for us to learn from.
i could be wrong about the father. i see conflicting info on that one.
Wow Brooke’s family truly sucked. I guess what we saw wasn’t based on editing…
I think Brooke’s parents were okay. I mean it seemed they didn’t really understand the complexity of her pain and addiction. Is Breann the one that didn’t let her walk at her wedding? I didn’t like that sister personally. I feel bad for Brooke as she seemed poorly treated by her the most.
Yah I hope she visits this page to see what everyone thinks of her.
I had a similar incident and I sent Dizzy my IP address and it was resolved.
dizzy, why do i keep getting this notification: Sorry, you have been blocked
You are unable to access intervention-directory.com
Why have I been blocked?
This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.
What can I do to resolve this?? i have tried repeatedly to leave a comment. this has happened a few times over the last few days as well.
hmmm well that comment worked. wtheck?? just fyi, there’s nothing controversial in the comment i am trying to leave. no profanity.
Ok so I have to use a 3rd party filtering system because the site has been under constant attack for the last 2 years. If I don’t have the filtering on (called Cloudflare) then the site in overwhelmed by the bots, meaning so many visits all at once that the hosting company shuts me down because it can’t handle the bandwidth. I was shut down probably 6 times when it first started and the only thing I could do to keep it up was buy Cloudflare. Even now, 2 years later, Cloudflare blocks almost 100,000 visits a day that are coming from this bot, a script that is being run in perpetuity to attack the site. ANYWAY, I suspect that it’s Cloudflare that has protections set up the prevent commenting that seems like it might be coming from a bot. I know that if you have 2 or more links in the comment that it won’t post without approval, but I think it’s also looking at keywords. I don’t know what words are triggering the block but if you want to send me your comment in an email (dizzy.buzzkill@gmail.com) so I can start to see what the patterns are, maybe I can change the Cloudflare settings. Until then, I would recommend always writing out the comment in another program and they copying and pasting into the comment field here so that at least you won’t lose what you wrote.
wow, why so many attacks from bots?? is this something that happens to every website? i would imagine. i was finally able to post the long comment (below) after i deleted out some of the symbols, like parenthesis, and made the comment a little shorter. i often find it’s the long comments that get blocked. it’s funny that you suggested to type the comment in another program because before i post any comment now, i always copy it in case something goes wrong so i don’t lose it bc that has happened many times already. thanks for getting back to me and for the contact info! if it happens again, i’ll send you the info. thanks!!
I think everyone who suffers from pain should try an elimination diet, especially gluten. I know most will think that’s stupid but I used to have really bad arthritis in my knees and it went away when I did the Rob Wolf protocol. People think diet factors zero into it, but it really is everything.
Arthritis in your knees is the not the same as Rheumatoid Arthritis in your body. Please. Diet has nothing to do with an actual autoimmune disease. And a diet will do nothing for it. So, please educate yourself on the difference. Some people think they are the same, but they are actually not and the cause of the inflammation is different. What you had was osteoarthritis. We have arthritis due to an autoimmune disease.
Where can you watch her episode??
Amazon Prime Video
I live with Fibermyalgia, Spinal Stenosis, Neuropathy of upper and lower extremities, spasms in my back, feet and esophogus, erosive esopgogitis, Uveitis (which is RA in my eye, leaving me half blind), Edema, and survived Ovarian Cancer. I have had over 15 various surgeries and been on so many medications over the past 15 years…they were literally killing me. With two young children, I could not work, and stayed home for 4 years while they were young. After missing out on their lives so much, having a difficult time keeping our house, and knowing that i could easily fall into mental addiction (because i was drousy and relaxed all the time and the strwsses if life were just eased when i was medicated), i decided that for my kids something had to change. So if I didn’t do the following, I could’ve just as easily been one of these sad stories.
First, I had to go back to work…so after being home for a few years, at 40, i went back with a cane and tons of meds but got back into the groove (as a matter of fact, i think my sleepy eyes made me lose a couple temp jobs at first and stopped taking the med before work but near end of day). Then, i wanted to get active. So one day I assisted my daughter in kickboxing, just by standing there with my hands up as her partner. Low and behold, I joined kickboxing myself. Then i fell in love with karate and joined that too. I couldn’t do anything at first….i modified everything and basically lifted my feet 6 inches off the ground, punched with NO power. But you know what??? After 5 years, i now have my black belt. My body got stronger. And after researching Fibermyalgia, i found out that you can have less pain if you make your body stronger. I have been weaned off of 90% of my meds (down to just Dilaudid and Methadone…even though still a dose that could kill a small horse)and go monthly to a great pain management dr.
I feel that what happened with me is…i came to a crossroad. I chose to try something new, because the way I was going wasn’t good. to get active, which actually made me stronger, and I needed less medication over time. I also wean myself, very very slowly, down one pill a day less every 6 months (then when I know I can live with that I tell the dr. And he prescribes less). If this works for someone else out there, just getting active, then focussing on taking one less pill every 6 months or so, maybe it will change someone who is bordering being mentally addicted to not.
There are definitely reasons in an addicts life for why they medicate…trauma etc. I didn’t have any if that. It was just medical reasons. But if that is you…its worth a try.
I was Facebook friends with Brooke, I have very screwed up backs C.P.D. Plus G.D.D. And RA in my back. I understand pain, I was on pain pills including Oxycontin since 1996, when they told ” non addictive ” I been clean for 50 days. But I still have pain. Brooke before she paased wanted me to go to Bay Recovery, at the time was about 5 years ago I was not ready, she completed her program. She started working for them she thinks told me, or wanting to I forgot, we talked back in forth for awhile then life got busy for her and I , I did go to treatment to get of pain Meds May, 9th 2017,
I too have RA and as I watch this show some years ago I could feel her pain . As she crossed the street , you have to tell your brain it’s okay to step up on the crub. RA pain is real!
Thanks to Hulu and Amazon I think I’ve now seen all the shows up to now and she and Hubert have remained the most special and loving hearted.
At the end they say she admitted having an addiction but also that she received treatment for Lyme and RA, AND… had a knee replacement which iimproved her mobility. Someone else here noticed her hands… Imagine a young formerly vibrant woman her age needing knee replacement and having other damaged joints as well… I would guess it wasn’t feasible to replace all the joints irreversibly damaged by RA so priority was given to keep her out of a wheelchair. Sad that sibling rivalry added to her suffering, – a woman with a less generous heart woman would have spitefully stayed home from the wedding or tried to sabotage it; look at so many of the others featured on this show who continuosly verbally and emotionally abuse loved ones – not once did she ever act hurtfully towards her family. I think in this case her dad standing up for her was the right thing to do and every time I watch this episode I want to stand up and cheer for him. So heartbreaking about her passing and that it was brought on by meth – I only hope it happened very early on and she left this world unburdened by emotional and physical pain. May she rest in peace.
I cried several times tonight watching her episode. I feel that yes, the sisters were horrible. However playing Devils Advocate, they did the intervention at very important times in the other sisters lives so she was in fact a burden to them at that moment. She really broke my heart because I didnt see an addict at first, I saw a girl in pain. The cutting her out I can see was to bring her bottom to her faster, I get it. But that poor girl. I just am left with the why meth??? She died from meth right? So something went way wrong later. I just feel so bad for the girl…
I was just cleaning out a drawer and came across a piece of paper that I had printed out on Brookes story so I looked it up again and saw that she had died I’m so sad I have RA and about 13 years ago I was bad , I suffered with ra for 8 years of being misdiagnosed I laid in bed my family worried I was taking so much pain medication and prednisone it’s an awful awful feeling not to be able to get away from your pain and I felt that in Brookes I’m so sorry for your loss she was a beautiful person and when I watched that episode it reminded me of me how I use to walk I am in remission now and very grateful for the doctors at UCSF that made major breakthroughs. My thoughts and prayers are with the family
I remember watching Brooke’s intervention and just bawling during the family confrontation stage. Then I saw an update where she had gained weight and looked so much healthier and happier and felt that there was hope for her. Now to find out that she passed away is just so heartbreaking. I am so sorry for her and her family and friends. I hope that she is now at peace and I pray that all those who loved her know that her story can be an inspiration to others to get help and stay clean. So sad to hear of this… 🙁
Hi Shelby. I too am a chronic pain patient with a dependency on my medication just to get out of bed – and I rarely do that. I am mostly bedbound. I wonder sometimes whether I am more disabled by my spinal disease or from the effects of the medication (in my case, morphine). I would like to detox off of my meds and see if my pain can be managed any other way. I want my old life and self back. I too consider suicide as my situation seems so hopeless. I just want you to know that you aren’t alone in the way that you feel. Brooke’s funeral was today. Let’s not add to the tragedy and make a pact to not give up. My name is Cathy. I live in Kansas, and you can email me at Cathleen861@yahoo.com if you ever want someone to talk to. I will keep you in my thoughts. Take care.
Where can i watch this cant find anywhere online, I’m not in USA
im also trying to fine it but not able to find the episode anywhere myself.
Amazon.com you will probably have to purchase her episode, but in the US it’s only 1.99
Hi. I subscribe to Ramoin on youtube. She has tons of episodes and Brooke is on there.
Hi there. Brooke’s episode, along with many others, can be found on myflixer.to
I think A&E has taken down the episodes of people who passed. I found a few, and then one day they were gone. It sucks because I think they should be available to show people the reality of addiction, and that not everyone recovers! It’s a real shame because it’s nice to see them- as a reminder.
I remember this episode. I always had a lot of thoughts on it, because I have chronic pain (osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia, though I think the fibromyalgia diagnosis has been a misdiagnosis – I think being an addict made me ignore many of the other symptoms I was having, or took away the pain of them. There have been some that I mistakenly attributed to the medication instead. It’s a complicated issue.) Problem was, I was also addicted to pain medication. I became addicted before the chronic pain started, at only sixteen years old, when a doctor prescribed oxycodone to me getting my wisdom teeth removed. Before then, I had never even smoked marijuana, or a cigarette. Things are a lot different now. The chronic pain did make my addiction a lot worse, though, absolutely.
I never was sure what to make of this episode. It was very clear she had real pain, but it was hard to tell whether she also had an addiction, or if her medication was just being improperly managed. I watched this episode several times, and the whole situation was just a mess. I won’t make any comments about her family because of her passing, even though that was a year ago now, it still feels rather insensitive.
I can say that it is misery having legitimate pain but being unable to take pain medications due to an addiction. It’s also misery because you can’t get any support, even in communities for chronic pain. Or, at least, that’s been my experience. People in chronic pain communities would make negative, nasty comments to me, telling me that if I had chronic pain, it was “impossible” to get high on pain medication, so therefore, I must not have real chronic pain. I remember when I was using, I started to think I was simply delusional, and I was just merely an addict. But after quitting for two years (using Suboxone), the pain is still present, and it’s still very real. A lot of people think of things in an “either/or” type of fashion. People can have legitimate chronic pain but also be addicts. Maybe that’s changed now.
It is truly heartbreaking to learn of her death. I’m not sure what to say about it, but it makes me very sad.
? Was this the episode where they her a physical and agreed she in fact did NOT need all those meds for her pain and they weaned her off them. I was sure the ending was she in dif meds or more appropriate meds. At first I thought her family were insensitive jerks but then when the new doctors did an eval they came to the conclusion she did not in fact need all those meds and that she was exaggerating.
She was diagnosed with lymes disease, as well as rheumatoid arthritis. If you know anything about those diseases, you would never say she was exaggerating her pain. The dr said she was NOT an addict, she was simply taking her prescribed meds and trying to find some kind of relief. Her family didn’t really understand how serious her illnesses were. At least not the mother, and sisters. I have researched what you said in your comment, and I’m unable to find anything of the sort. Only confirmation of her diseases and her pain being very real. I live with rheumatoid arthritis myself, and I can tell you first hand it is no joke. 4 hours or longer just to be able to get out of bed each day because the pain, stiffness, and swelling of the joints make it difficult to walk. Some days I can’t walk at all and I have to be carried to the bathroom etc. It’s a serious condition.
She was not exaggerating her pain. She was truly suffering.