Hey howdy everybody. The world we live in is crazy y’all, and you just never know where the day will take you.
For instance, last Monday was just a regular day for me. On Mondays I have my Freakshow at JR’s, so I get in drag as usual and start the show. I have only been onstage for about three minutes when I notice movement out of the corner of my eye.
There was a guy on the little smokers’ patio, sitting on a stool all by himself. I had actually noticed him before the show started, when he was standing at the bar. He was what we call “trashy hot.” I am sure I am going to offend a few of you for saying that, but we all know what that means.
“Trashy hot” basically means he was giving druggie, gay-for-pay vibes. It sounds horrible to say that, but we ain’t stupid, and we know what goes on in our neighborhood sometimes.
Any who, so — from the corner of my eye, the movement I saw was that guy shaking and convulsing. Then he and the stool he is sitting on fall sideways, and I see him smack the ground — hard. Then — nothing. No movement at all. He never even tried to brace for impact.
Just Bam! And he was completely still.
I realize that no one else in the bar saw any of this happen. The guy he was with earlier was at the pool table, in his own world. I start yelling that the guy out there just fell out. Unfortunately, most of the people in the room thought I was joking.
(In their defense, when I am on the mic, you never know what bullshit might fall outta my mouth.)
I start yelling at the bartender by name and making serious eye contact, so she knows I ain’t playing. I yell for someone to grab the Narcan and help this dude. That got everyone’s attention. At least three people run from different places in the room with Narcan in hand.
For those of you that don’t know, all of our Caven bars have Narcan/naloxone on hand at all times. We even have dispenser that kind of looks like a vending machine, so if anyone needs it, they don’t have to ask. It’s free and available to everybody. It is a single dose that is sprayed up the person’s nose.
Within seconds, the guy was administered the naloxone, and a minute later he was sitting up and talking. An ambulance was called and was there, literally, within two minutes. Thank God for our local fire station.
(And, of course, the paramedics were hot, but they rudely ignored me when I pretended to pass out on stage.)
Sadly, the guy rejected any and all care from the paramedics. They did what they could, but once someone refuses help and that person is coherent enough to say so, they have no choice but to leave him be. A few minutes later, Mr. Trashy Hot and his friend left the bar like nothing had happened.
The whole drama was done and over in 15 minutes. Life and death happening just a few feet away, and I never stopped the show. The show must go on dammit. At one point I was literally yelling for everyone to “Look over here! Look what I can do!” — doing anything I could to call attention back to the stage.
To be honest, it made for a more memorable show. I made jokes, like “We should sell shirts that say ‘I SURVIVED CASSIE NOVA’S FREAKSHOW,’ or ‘I got Narcanned at JR’s!’”
I know it’s a serious subject, and I shouldn’t make light of such a horrible situation but — well, I still had a job to do. Along with the jokes it was also a good opportunity to educate the crowd on the signs of an opioid overdose:
Are they unresponsive? Are the pupils of their eyes tiny little pinpoints? Has their breathing slowed or stopped all together? Have their lips or fingernails turned blue?
I also told them that the only reason I knew any of that was because we just had a company meeting where we met with a lady that lost her son to an overdose, and now she goes around and educates anyone that will listen about how deadly fentanyl is and the importance of drugs like Narcan.
I am so glad I was at that meeting.
I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to the staff and patrons of JR’s who took action and saved that guy’s life. I hope he gets the help that he needs.
Seeing that guy fall out made me realize how lucky I am that I survived that experimental phase of my youth. It’s scary to think of what could have happened.
The opioid crisis is very real, and, unfortunately, I don’t see it getting better any time soon. So I am proud that we keep this medication on hand to help if there is an accidental overdose.
I hope this doesn’t come across as too preachy — no, actually, fuck that! Ima preach. We gotta take care of each other. You never know when you will be in the right place at the right time to save a life.
Remember to always love more, bitch less and be fabulous! XOXO, Cassie Nova