John Hindman – Senior International & Public Affairs Advisor, Leidos

Opioids: Hidden Dangers, New Hope

John Hindman on what's required of parenting today ~ "Vigilance is required, irrespective of where we are. Parents didn't just turn us out and leave us to our own devices when we were kids. It's just more vigilant parenting is required, because this is indeed very pernicious." Brian Wilson: In today's busy corporate culture it's easy for an email to slip through the cracks. But in the case of Leidos employee John and the company's CEO Roger Krone one email had a huge impact. But, let's back up, we will begin with a story about John's son Sean, whose life was lost to opioid addiction. Brian Wilson: John, I want you to start by telling me about your son, Sean. Tell me what kind of kid he was growing up. John Hindman: Sean was a good kid. Somewhat slight of build, about 5'9". Gifted athlete, tremendous soccer player. He was a younger brother to my daughter, Allison. He was overall a quiet kid. Liked to associate with older kids, but began to get exposed to drugs, probably ... The first time we were aware of it, he was about 11 when he reported to us. He was counseled and stayed away from things until probably when he was about 13. Brian Wilson: How did it start? John Hindman: It was at somebody's house. Prescription drugs that were made available by the friends who lived at that house. That's not uncommon in our society today, unfortunately. Thus began his exposure to pills, and marijuana, and other hard drugs. And eventually, in the final years of his life, to heroin. Brian Wilson: So, this started at the age of 11. How many years did he struggle with it? John Hindman: Probably from the struggle standpoint, I would say the last decade of his life. Maybe 15 years, all together. Brian Wilson: Wow. John Hindman: In terms of in and out of usage, staying clean. But, as is often the case in situations like this, it impacts your ability to be fully employed, and it takes a toll on individuals in that regard. John Hindman: His final days, things were going, actually, very well for him the year before he passed. He had been clean for about half a year. It was in May of 2016, he came home with a young man, was actually someone he had known from high school, and announced that this young man would be working with him in the roofing crew that he worked with for several days. My wife begged him not to engage this individual because it was clear he was high. Regrettably, within the matter of two weeks, Sean was back into using heroin again. Thus began a very precipitous decline that summer. The Friday before he passed, a friend of his had called me to ask if I had NARCAN in the house, because his sister had overdosed. And I sought out Sean, who was hard to find in those final weeks, and months, even despite his living with us. He didn't have any NARCAN, but he went and found, and got NARCAN, and went and visited this friend that Sunday. Went out with several friends, came home about 2:30 in the morning, absolutely stone sober. My wife let him in, went to bed, and when each of us got up to go to work the next morning, went to put our hands on the doorknob to tell him have a good day, because they weren't working that day. And neither of us, for some reason we stopped, and didn't go in to bother him. When my wife got home from work, she didn't hear any noise from him, she just thought that was not all that unusual, it was early afternoon. About an hour later, she texted him and got no response, and ran upstairs and found him dead. So, she attempted CPR, and called the EMTs and notified me, and I came home. Brian Wilson: We’ll be right back. [Begin Announcement] Three years ago, you fell down the stairs and ended up with a fractured ankle. OxyContin 10mg. Sometimes you need something to help you sleep, and even though they’re expired they still work. Ambien 5 mg. Last summer you finally broke down and had your wisdom teeth extracted. Percocet 2.5 mg You never threw them out,