East Hampton Teen After Overdose 'Doing Great,' Mom Says

EAST HAMPTON, NY — Weeks after the night Jordan Johnson, 18, a teen who overdosed at a house party, where he was allegedly left for dead for approximately 12 hours while teens recorded his ordeal on Snapchat his mother Christine Moran said her family is blessed with the miracle of his recovery.

"Jordan is doing great. He's 80 percent physically. We follow up with St. Charles Hospital next week," she said, adding that he lost 40 to 50 percent of his hearing permanently, and they will also be following up with doctors in that regard.

"But overall," she said, "we have Jordan back."

A recent fundraiser for Jordan was held at The Stephen Talkhouse, during which Moran thanked the Amagansett EMTs, Peter Honorkamp, owner of The Stephen Talkhouse and his assistant Tammi Gay, as well as the crowd that attended to support her son and donated a bevy of beautiful items for the auction, and Mama Lee & Friends, who performed.

"It was a beautiful turnout. I was overwhelmed and so grateful for the amazing donations from Montauk to East Hampton and even further. We felt beyond blessed," she said.

Moran said her son's journey serves as a critical reminder that early education is critical, with DARE program essential in schools.

And she has an urgent message to teens who might be terrified, seeing their friend overdose. No matter what, she said, "Call 911."

To the angels who have rallied in support of her family, Moran has said "I'm so grateful for all the support I have received at this difficult time. There are not enough words to express our gratitude toward our community. I want everyone to know how much I appreciate the support because I could have never made it this far without it."

Jordan speaks out
Remembering his terrifying ordeal, Jordan told Patch recently: "It scares me. I don't like to think of it. If I had died, I wouldn't have been able to say goodbye to anyone."

He said while he doesn't remember the details of that night, he has one vivid recollection: "All I know is nobody called 911 right away."

On the miracle of his survival, he said, "I thank God and I feel blessed."

And to all those who have rallied to help, Jordan said, "Thank you, and I love you."

To other kids, Jordan has a message to convey: "If you see your friends going down the wrong road and continuously doing bad things tell someone."

Moran spoke of her son's miracle homecoming with Patch.

The whole experience, she said, has spotlighted the need for parents and the community to work with kids to prevent tragedy.

"We need to teach our children to protect themselves and their friends. Don't be afraid to communicate as parents. Kids are going to experiment, kids will make poor choices, but nowadays it can cost them their life. "

Reflecting on the night her son overdosed, and on the adult whose home where it took place, and the teens who did not call for help immediately, she said, "It's disturbing. Cops were called several times about the house. To Snapchat a video of my son passed out and a megaphone blowing in his ear is beyond sick and morbid."

Two arrests have been made in regard to the alleged party house.

To other young people in a similar situation, she said, "Call 911 if someone is not responding. Don't be scared."

And to the community that has opened its arms to help during the darkest of times, Moran said, "I respect and thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. The support from my community is beyond what I ever could have imagined. We couldn't have gotten through this without everyone. Our community is small but can feel somewhat large at times. Bonac always knows when to come together. I can say 'thank you', but I feel it isn't enough. I want this experience to bring us closer together as a community to protect everyone from this kind of unfortunate event from happening again."

To read a prior report about the East Hampton community galvanizing for change, to prevent similar overdoses in the future, click here.

Patch photo courtesy of Christine Moran.