I have no idea what’s going on with this season, I just wanted to update you on some sad Intervention news.
Vanessa from Season 1 was shot by police after aiming a BB gun at the officers during a routine welfare check. The incident made national news, you can read more about it here.
Joe from Season 8 died after suffering from an infection that led to a convulsive episode in the hospital, which resulted in a brain injury that he succumbed to. It’s unclear how his addiction was related to his death, but his father’s very sad Facebook post suggests that his history with heroin and self-asphyxiation had taken its toll on his health.
Betsy from Season 2 apparently passed away in early August. I do not know details about the cause of death, but with help from Stefan we have pieced together bits of information that appear to confirm that she died. If anyone out there has more information and can more definitively verify, I would appreciate any information. Here is her obituary. It’s been confirmed that she died of breast cancer. Here is a different obit with more information.
The absolute worst part of doing this website is finding out that the people that I related to, cried with, and rooted for have lost their lives. I know that the fans of the show who read this site feel these deaths the same way. Intervention asks us to emotionally invest in their lives, to care about them and hope and pray that they thrive in sobriety. And we do, sometimes passionately. When we find out that sobriety didn’t take or that their health was so compromised by the addiction or mental illness that they didn’t survive, it’s hard to take. I never want to add another person to this horrible and tragic list. It’s too long as it is. Way, way too long. Take care of yourselves my friends, I will do the same.
Thank you for all the work you do with this site Dizzy!
I am crying softly as I write this. I agree completely. If only we could wish, will or contribute to their recovery in any meaningful way… if only…. Of course we all have someone close in a similar circumstance. Every small victory is a hope and every death is a devastation on more than one level. What is the answer? If only there was an answer. I don’t have the words..
Thank you for an update. I would love to have a list of the episodes that are “impossible” to find in case they ever pop up.
Episodes which are unavailable in all official capacities (show website, iTunes, Amazon, etc.), excluding follow-ups/special episodes:
-Gabe/Vanessa, Season 1 (currently available on Youtube)
-Betsy, Season 2
-Mike/Jenny, Season 5 (currently available on Youtube)
The Austin/Michelle episode is only available on Xfinity last time I checked, although it’s currently available on Youtube. I’m not including the Michael/Randi episode as it seems to have never aired, at least Randi’s portion (this was confirmed by Randi herself in a PM to Dizzy and alluded to in the show’s 10th anniversary special), while Michael appears to be the same Michael in the Season 2 episode with Adam.
It’s interesting how all “missing” episodes now contain a subject whom has passed away. Perhaps they were struggling mentally so much that they didn’t want people to see their fragile state?
Yes I find that interesting too, as in the “missing” episodes contain a person who has died. I feel as though they should air them because one of the things that can come from addiction is death. We always hope for the best, but that isn’t always the case. I think by pulling them they take away the aspect that death is a possibility.
Thanks for the update, Dizzy. Sad to hear about both passings, esp. Joe. He seemed to have been on a good path as of late.
Not sure what is going on with the new season of Intervention, but I thought I’d mention for folks who want to see it on TV that Viceland shows repeats a lot. Also, tonight they are debuting a similar show called Dope Sick Nation.
Intervention got nominated for “Unstructured Reality Program”
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/emmys-nominations-list-2018-1202871084/
I have fallen down the rabbit hole on youtube and watched so many eps…as I start them, i come here and look them up and im sad that i don’t find them all! Like this T.J. chick, she’s a singer and addicted to cocaine…its so confusing because it’s presented as a regular intervention episode but im pretty sure it’s intervention Canada. Anyways dizzy, you’re awesome. I have 5 years clean from IV heroin use and I just started college this semester to be a drug counselor. I’m on this site so much..thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this site!
Many of you may not know this but USA and Canada aren’t the only countries that produced Intervention. There was a short season on 2012 done by A&E itself in Brazil. You can find tidbits of some of the episodes on A&E Brasil official Youtube channel (of course they’re in Portuguese, not English), and they’re probably the rarest, if not impossible, episodes to get your hands on.
There were 8 episodes done: Vanessa; Marcelo; João Carlos; Davi; Thiago; Michelle; Bárbara and Filippo. The addictions were primarily Crack, Cocaine and Alcohol. The interventionists were Fábio Damasceno and Marcelo Piquet Pessoa. The series was called “Intervenção” (Intervention, in english).
Interesting! I didn’t know that.
Hi Dizzy. Thanks for all you do. The person I’d like an update on is you, if you’re willing to share. Hope all is well, or at least moving in a positive direction.