Season 21, Episode 4
Nathan
Age: 31
Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Hydromorphone
Official Synopsis: An outstanding athlete, Nathan excelled at sports at an early age. It was obvious to all around him that he was professional material. His status as the town’s star hockey player made him a popular kid with a bright looking future. But when he was 19, a fight at a local bar left him with a ruptured ACL, a painful injury that left him with an addiction to prescription opioids. Fortunately, Nathan was able to get clean after a wake-up call from the law. He moved to a new town and got a good job. All was going well until an explosion at a St. Patrick’s day riot left Nathan with third and fourth degree burns. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Nathan, again, became addicted to painkillers. He’s been spiraling ever since. Now, the only thing Nathan lives for is his next fix. His family is afraid that without an intervention, Nathan will soon meet an unfortunate end.
What’s Memorable: I mean it sounds like Nathan was a decent person before the drugs, but man almighty had this guy become an absolute nightmare to be around. Unreasonably combative, deceitful, manipulative, obsessed with getting money. All fairly standard behavior for addicts at his level, but there was something about the way he treated his family that really unnerved me. It was such a pleasant surprise to see his emotional reaction to his family’s words at the intervention. You could see his true self, vulnerable and unguarded, come out as he listened and accepted the treatment. When that 3 Months Later came up on the screen and I heard hockey sounds, yeah I straight up lost it and started sobbing. I guess I needed a good cathartic cry, life is weird right now. Anyway, good for you Nathan, that’s awesome.
Date Aired: August 10, 2020 in US, aired as Intervention Canada Season 4 in July 2018.
Interventionist: Geri Bemister. She’s nailing these interventions.
You’re absolutely right – Geri is fantastic. Here’s a little bit about her history from a newspaper article:
Late one night in June 1988, Geri Bemister smashed in the door of a Victoria pharmacy with a hammer and bolt cutters, grabbed the drugs she knew she could sell, and ran.
She was 19, an alcoholic, addict and already entrenched with criminals when that smash-and-grab landed her in a federal prison. It only increased her street credibility and fuelled her fascination with the gang lifestyle. That, in turn, fuelled her addiction, which nearly claimed her life at 35.
At that point, her family intervened and got her into rehab. From there, she went on to university as a student and then teacher.
https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/a-b-c-college-instructors-novel-life-of-prison-addiction-and-recovery
She did 90 days in a rehab facility, left, and 2 days later she started as a freshman in a Vancouver University where she’s now a criminology lecturer (in addition to being an interventionist).
Great article, thanks. I like her even more now. She’s got such an interesting history and sounds like she has some strong (and controversial?) opinions on addiction and recovery.
She’s great, I completely agree. Felt sorry for him though. It was painful to watch him high, but I felt as though his dad was a bit much. Glad Geri put him in his place. It was sad that only she visited him at rehab.
Looks like Nathan is doing quite well!
https://twcrecoverylife.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TWC-Sponsorship-Package-Starry-Starry-Night.pdf
Posts from his Facebook show he’s still clean, living in Vancouver, and training as a carpenter.
what about now? what is his facebook? idek his last name lol
His last name is Green, but I couldn’t find any updates.
Geri is the best. I love her approach. I wonder how this man is doing. Sarnia is a pretty dull place. Easy to get on the wrong side of the tracks
Hes so self aware yet still treats his mother like shit. I’m only half way through the episode but I have this like/dislike for him. The addict in him is so strong, it’s so sad that prescribed meds can turn someone into this.
My mother is a prescription pill addict and it all started with a bad back.
This:
https://www.theobserver.ca/news/local-news/sarnia-man-jailed-100-days-for-assault-and-death-threat
Oh gosh…that makes me so sad. Looks like he is fully immersed in the lifestyle again and it’s especially sad that he progressed to Fentanyl now. My thoughts go out to his family. They were very supportive and kind.