On June 13, 2015, Nick and Jack Savage, two brothers, one graduating from high school and the other a college student, took one pill each at a graduation party. It was something they had never done before. On the morning of June 14th, Becky Savage found both of her sons had died in their sleep. How does a parent survive such a tragedy? In part, by giving her sons’ lives meaning by founding the nonprofit 525 Foundation, educating teens and parents about the dangers of prescription drug misuse.
“It was like any other Sunday morning when you have kids, especially boys,” Savage says. “You have a lot of laundry, and that was what I was doing that day. I remember letting them sleep in a little bit. I think it was about ten-ish or so when I walked into Jack’s room. I picked up his laundry, and I remember looking at him. It was just one of those moments that was surreal. As a parent, when you walk into your children’s room when they are an infant or even as they age, there is just something peaceful about watching them sleep.”
But Jack was not asleep. By occupation a nurse, Becky Savage soon realized her son was not responsive. He was not breathing. Savage started doing CPR on her son, Jack, 18, screaming for her other son, Nick, 19, to come help. Moments later, Nick’s friends, who had spent the night with him in the basement of the home, ran upstairs and let her know they had called 911. Nick, too, was not breathing. Both boys had died in their sleep.
With time, Becky Savage and her husband Mike learned what had killed their sons. The boys had been at graduation parties with friends, drinking a beer or two, and both accepted what appeared to be ordinary prescription pills from a friend. The full effect didn’t hit them until they went to sleep—to never wake. It seemed so unlike them. Both had been excellent students with many friends, a strong family life, and had never taken drugs before.
Savage wrote a book, titled #OneChoice, in the voices of both of her sons and concluding with her own. It is the story of making one mistake that led to disastrous results. The Savages went on to establish the 525 Foundation, a nonprofit to educate teens and their parents about the dangers of taking pills, street drugs but also prescription drugs.
“That is what our mission is,” Savage says. “To reach the Nicks and Jacks in every community to let them know what can happen so that they can make better choices.”
Savage will be speaking to 8th, 11th, and 12th graders on March 9 and 10 at Portage public schools and then at a Portage Community Event at Portage Northern High School at 6:30 p.m. on March 11. Visit Eventbrite to learn more and register for the community event.
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