‘They saved my life’: Everett man credits Harborview addiction program with helping him get sober

An Everett man who has suffered from opioid use credits the addiction program at Harborview Medical Center with helping save his life.

Ed Deinas told KIRO 7 that he has now been sober for two and a half years. He was first prescribed opioids for shoulder pain when he was 56.

“I went to a pain management clinic in the healthcare system and I was subscribed oxycodone, 30 milligrams, oxycodone, and 120 of them a month,” he said. He took the pills for two years until his doctor retired and he was essentially cut off.

“I had to go out on the street and I was buying it illegally,” Deinas said. But it got too expensive and he soon began using heroin.

“The guy I bought them from was selling heroin and he said heroin is not the same as it was, you can smoke it now and it’s not as addictive and this and that. So instead of paying all the money I started smoking heroin at 57 years old, 58 years old,” he said. Deinas said he smoked heroin for about four years.

“My life started deteriorating and my use went up and up because your tolerance goes up,” he said. In 2019 he was in a terrible car accident that landed him in the intensive care unit at Harborview.

“I had a broken leg, shattered hip and pelvis and all the ribs on my left side were broken and they had gone through my lung and punctured my heart,” Deinas said. “That’s where I met my first OBOT counselor and they realized I had an addiction because they had done blood work and saw the heroin in my system.” OBOT is short for Harborview’s Office-Based Opioid Treatment program.

“We really try to lower the barriers to treatment and make it easily accessible, whether you come to our emergency department or one of our outpatient clinics,” Dr. Joseph Merrill, a professor at the University of Washington, said.

The accessibility to addiction treatment is what sets Harborview apart from traditional services. Anyone can get help by calling the intake line and others can come there through referrals from other programs.

“Substance use does impact every part of their life, so if we want to see their diabetes improve, or their infection or mental health, it’s really not going to happen unless you can address that substance use that’s going on,” said Elenore Bhatraju, Co-Director of Inpatient Consult Service at Harborview.

Deinas spent about six weeks taking Suboxone, which is used to treat opioid dependency.

“When you tell an opioid addict that you’re going to take their opioids away, you know, it gives you a fear. But as I laid there they came and checked on me and we got some rapport going, I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do that,’” Deinas said. He also joined Harborview’s Medically Assisted Recovery Services group.

“It’s changed my life,” Deinas said. “I owe Harborview this interview because they saved my life.”

If you or someone you know needs help with addiction you can call 206-744-9657 or click here.

VIDEO: Lifesaving addiction services at Harborview Medical Center

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