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Daniels' story goes before Congress |
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In the U.S. capitol to call the play by play of the Washington Capitals-Columbus Blue Jackets Stanley Cup playoff series, Detroit Red Wings TV broadcaster Ken Daniels and his family took advantage of the opportunity to make a federal case out of their personal tragedy and to hopefully get a message out to all of the dangers that exist within an industry that is supposed to be there to help people rebuild their lives.
While Daniels was calling the action on the ice, Lisa Daniels went before Congress and spoke of the tragedy of their son Jamie’s death from a drug overdose and the opioid crisis that is rampant in America.
“December 7, 2016 will forever be the most difficult day for all of us,” Lisa Daniels told Congress. “That is the day we found out our beautiful son Jamie had died. Rumors surrounding his death circulated throughout our community, but Jamie’s story is not what anyone expected.”
Ken Daniels has willingly shared his son’s tragic tale with the public in the hopes that it will perhaps save the life of someone else who is struggling with addiction. Ken opened up about the tragedy via an E:60 documentary on ESPN and he and Lisa have formed the Jamie Daniels Foundation. Ken makes speaking appearances to tell their story and also utilizes the book we wrote together, If These Walls Could Talk: Detroit Red Wings as a fundraiser and a way to increase awareness of the evils not only of opioid addiction, but also to reveal the cottage industry that has developed to prey on the vulnerability of those battling to beat addiction.
Lisa Daniels spoke of how many times they watched Jamie relapse in his addiction to opioids, and how there seemed to be little in place in the way of aftercare for addicts seeking to kick the habit.
“We finally found help from a psychologist in Michigan, who at Jamie’s lowest point recommended he move to an inpatient treatment center in Florida,” Lisa explained. “After spending 10 days in the hospital in Michigan going through detox, where they weaned him off all the medication he was taking, less than 24 hours later he was on a plane to Florida.”
What seemed like a path to recovery instead turned out to be a scam that would ultimately result in Jamie’s death.
“We had no clue about the corruption in Florida,” Lisa said. “No one said anything to us. When I was on the phone with Jamie and his therapist in Florida, and we spoke about him moving into a sober home, not once did the therapist mention anything about what had been going on in Florida.
“With the help of the Florida State Attorney, and his special Drug Task Force detectives, we have now learned that what has become a billion dollar, broken recovery industry, often involves corruption and criminal activity, and took Jamie’s life.”
Florida is known as the recovery capital of America, with more than 400 so-called sober recovery homes in Palm Beach County, where Jamie was housed. But instead of helping addicts get clean, through some of these places drugs are readily available and lead most to relapse, creating an ongoing cycle where they are readmitted to the sober house and more insurance claims are made.
In Jamie’s case, he was prescribed with Xanax, a highly-addictive anti-anxiety medication.
“In other words, Jamie was set up to fail,” Lisa said.
Four days after he was prescribed the Xanax, Jamie ingested a fatal dose of heroin laced with fentanyl.
By going before Congress, Daniels hopes that the situation in Florida will be more regulated and standards will be put in place to prevent these shady outfits from unfettered operation.
“We are allowing predators to continue nefarious practices, and it has to stop now,” Lisa Daniels said.
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Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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