Man Who Lost Brother To Heroin Saves A Life With Narcan

LAUREL, NY — A young man who has devoted his life to helping others escape the grip of addiction after losing his brother to a heroin overdose saved a life this weekend — using the Narcan he's trained countless others to administer.

Paul Maffetone, who lost his brother Michael Anthony Maffetone at 29 in 2012 to a heroin overdose in their family's Laurel home, created Michael's Hope, a not for profit organization that aims to raise awareness and shine a light on the escalating heroin crisis on Long Island and across the nation.

Michael's Hope offers forums and free Narcan training sessions; co-founders Maffetone and Kristina Amato also became certified Narcan trainers.

And this weekend, Maffetone was put in a place where that training became a literal matter of life and death.

"For the last five years," he said, "I’ve carried a Narcan kit with me mostly everywhere I go."

On Saturday, he was on his way to a hair appointment at the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington Station. "I wasn't even supposed to be there at that time," he said. "My appointment was at 2 p.m. On the way there, they called and asked if I could reschedule for 3 p.m." Maffetone wasn't able to reschedule, so he kept heading to the an appointment that turned out to be more accurately described as a proverbial date with destiny.

"I was on my way there, and I missed my turn. I was on the corner of Pine Lawn Road and Broadhollow Road, in the right turn lane at the light. Two or three lanes to my left, I heard a woman screaming," he said.

Maffetone said he looked over and saw a man slumped over in the passenger seat. "I screamed, 'Is it a heroin overdose?' and she said 'yes,'" he said.

Grabbing his Narcan kit, Maffetone pulled over and raced to the vehicle. "He was blue. He had no color in his skin, his eyes were wide open, and there was no pulse. He was not breathing," Maffetone said.

Maffetone administered one dose of Narcan. "It didn't do anything, so I hit him with a second dose," Maffetone said. Another passerby, a minister, joined the frantic efforts and prayed the whole time.

Maffetone spoke to the dispatchers after the woman called 911. "I pulled him out of the car, laid him on the road, and started doing CPR," he said. "While I was in the middle of CPR, the EMTs came and gave him a third dose of Narcan. And then, he started breathing again."

The man, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, "woke up like nothing ever happened," Maffetone said.

Unlike some who overdose and wake up belligerent, the man "wasn't combative," Maffetone said. "He thanked me, got up on his own and walked to the ambulance."

The moment was deeply emotional for Maffetone, whose life was forever changed by his brother's death.

"I broke down afterward," he said. "I haven't seen another person overdose since my brother passed away." The EMTs asked him if he was a first responder; he told them his story. "They were all thanking me, saying, 'If it wasn't for you, he would have died,'" Maffetone said. The woman in the car was crying, hugging Maffetone in thanks, he added.

His brother's death was one-hundred percent the catalyst for the miracle of the Narcan save, Maffetone said. "My brother was definitely with me. There was a reason I turned down that later appointment, why I missed my turn, which put me at that traffic light at the right time — so that man didn't have to die that day."

Carrying Narcan, Maffetone said, is a necessity, a mantra he repeats at every training Michael's Hope offers. "You never think you're going to have to use it; I've been carrying that kit for so long. This just shows that the problem is still here — it's still happening."

While no one in his life is using heroin, Maffetone said the Narcan was still essential. "I had to use it on a complete stranger at a red light," he said.

Saving a life further fueled Maffetone's mission in his brother's memory. "To be a part of that firsthand, the whole time I was with him, I couldn't help but think about my brother. My brother might have able to be saved, if there was Narcan available then."

When his brother died, civilians weren't yet able to carry Narcan, he said. The man he saved, Maffetone said, had a different ending to his story. "He was given another chance — a chance my brother never got."

He urged individuals to get trained in Narcan use. "Be smart and carry your kit with you everywhere you go, because you just never know when it’s going to be the day you have to use it. My brother was definitely watching over me."

Patch photos courtesy Paul Maffetone.