BRANDON, Fla. — Tracy Carathanasis remembers her son, Drew, as the kid who loved hockey.
“From the time he was little, he slept with his hockey gloves on his pillow,” she said. “He always wanted to be the first one at practice, first one at games.”
Now his memory lives on.
“I had him going to a counselor. He had been in a program,” said Carathanasis. “I was going to programs. I was going to things to try to help him.”
Carathanasis said her son experimented with drugs but was still a thriving student and athlete. She told Drew took too much of his prescribed medication and died from an accidental overdose.
“I think the biggest thing was that he was going to school every day, and he was getting good grades, and so I just thought that well as long as these things are still happening, we’re still doing okay,” said Carathanasis.
Carathanasis stood alongside law enforcement, doctors, and other advocates outside HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, reminding the community about Saturday’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
“Every pill you turn in is one less chance for misuse, addiction, or heartbreak,” said Deputy Chief Chris Mills with the Temple Terrace Police Department.
The idea behind Drug Take Back Day is to give people the chance to safely and anonymously dispose of unnecessary, expired, and unused prescription medications and help prevent misuse.
“Our officers have dealt with cases where prescription medications left in the home led to devastating outcomes,” said Mills. “Situations that could have been avoided with safe disposal.”
The DEA and its partners will take things like tablets, capsules, and patches, but syringes, sharps, and illicit drugs won’t be collected.
Advocates point out something so simple can save lives.
“Just to keep things locked up or if they’re done using them, just to throw them away,” said Carathanasis.
In a few weeks, it’ll be ten years since Drew passed away. Still, Carathanasis continues sharing about his life so other families might be spared the same heartache.
“I really do it for him,” she said. “I feel like it’s my relationship with him, is for him to know that I’m still thinking of him and talking about him, and if it can just help one person.”
There are dozens of collection sites across Florida and the Tampa Bay Area. Click here to help find the one closest to you.
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Mary O’Connell has a primary focus on education-related stories for Tampa Bay 28. But she also keeps an eye on public health concerns and the always-changing car insurance market. Reach out to Mary to share any of your questions or concerns.
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