When you think about sleep aid medication, you think simply about something that will help you sleep right?
You may have heard stories about things people have done after taking a sleep aid, and there are plenty of them.
We don't always hear about the tragic effects of sleep aids, usually we hear about funny or silly things that people have done. We want you to know more.... The other side to the "funny"
There are stories of people who have had adverse reactions to sleep helping medications, and what a lot of people may not know is that there have been serious cases where people have been hurt, some who have even died after taking it, or have been in accidents where people's lives have been taken at the hands of a person who was on the medicine.
One of these tragic stories is why the Andy Card Foundation was founded...
You can find more information about how you can help by clicking the photo below...
This is the tragic story about a young man named Andy Hovis that was taken from us too soon from someone who was intoxicated on drugs, specifically sleep aid drugs.
The story is being told by his Father Mark Hovis.
On November 11, 2010 at 8:30 am our youngest son Andy Hovis was on his way to Gaston College. A man driving intoxicated on drugs hit Andy head-on. It took them 45 minutes to cut Andy out of the car and then he was flown to a trauma hospital. During this time the State Trooper ran Andy’s tag number and came to our house. We were all at work. The second time that the State Trooper came to our house he was able to get my husbands cell phone number from a neighbor. By this time it was after 1:00 and we did not know that Andy had been in a wreck. We arrived at the hospital after 2:00 p.m. Andy had been to surgery and was on a vent. Our son never regained consciousness. I never got to see his eyes or hear his voice again. When Andy’s sister arrived at the hospital she had brought his favorite blanket. We covered Andy with the blanket. On November 12, 2010 31 hours after the wreck our baby boy was pronounced brain dead and was removed from the vent. Our son was gone. After the funeral was over I started thinking that I could not let Andy’s death be in vain. I wanted to do something to help other families not go through what we went through. The one thing I will never forgive myself for is not being with my son when he needed me the most. The wreck was at 8:30 he was in the car until almost 9:30 am then he was taken to Dallas Park and flown to a trauma hospital where he underwent surgery. We were not made aware of the wreck until after 1:00 pm and did not arrive at the hospital until after 2:00 pm. This was over 5 hours that our son was going through the worst thing in his life and we were not there for him. After talking with State Troopers and other emergency workers we learned that this is not uncommon. Cell phones get lost during wrecks and tag numbers and registrations send them to the home. So I decided that I wanted to help other parents and family members not lose this precious time with their loved ones when there has been a wreck or other tragedy. I came up with the A.N.D.Y. Card. This is a bright yellow card that has a place for 8 emergency numbers. It is easy for the emergency workers to find. It is really “old school”. My husband tells people that he hopes everyone has a card and no one ever has to use it. We have given out 30,000 cards. People have used the cards. Here is a small list of reasons the cards have been used: wrecks, diabetic coma, lost book bag containing child’s medication, lost wallet. The card is great for book bags, diaper bags, pocket books and wallets. We have done presentations at churches, schools, youth groups, chamber of commerce meetings, rescue squads and fire departments. We would love to do a presentation for you and your group!
It is important to know that while we may hear the "funny" stories about sleep enhancing medications, sleep aids can be very dangerous too.
The Hovis family will never be the same after suffering such a tragic loss.
We will continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and if you would like to help or be part of their foundation in honor of their son, click the photo above.