One year ago today, Trever Sebring overdosed.
Sebring sat in his living room at his grandparents’ home surrounded by family members, mere feet away from the location where he almost lost his life to his addiction. Together, they recounted the details from the day.
His mother, Nicole Dodane, said she initially received a call from her neighbor. When she arrived, police cars, emergency medical services and firetrucks filled the cul-de-sac that led up to her parents’ home. She did not know her eldest son had overdosed at the time.
“I came up and he wasn’t breathing on his own,” Dodane said tearfully. “You know, you can’t get upset. You’re not thinking straight. You kind of go into survival mode. As a mom, I’ve been in that mode a lot over the years. There’s been more than one occasion that I didn’t think Trever was going to make it.”
The friend that was with him at the time ultimately saved his life, Sebring said. He contacted 911 and stayed with him until help arrived.
“That day, I was drinking and I had done Xanax,” Sebring recalled. “My buddy wanted to come over but I really didn’t want him to. I had bad social anxiety. I also really didn’t want to bring heat to my grandparents’ house. We were in the garage at the time hanging out and obviously using. I remember that I had bad anxiety and wanted him to leave, and then I woke up and I was in the hospital.”
Because his friend was in possession of marijuana, he was arrested and charged. The case is still pending. Sebring was charged with multiple felonies for possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. He did not learn of the charges until after he entered rehab, a decision he made shortly after he overdosed.
In the initial hours, however, Sebring said he wanted to die.
“I was so upset,” Sebring said. “I knew I had just made the biggest mistake of my life and it was actually over. I had been homeless before, it was wintertime. I could not bear the thought of going back to the street.”
Sebring later learned he overdosed on fentanyl, a drug he was not aware he was consuming. Though he cannot quite explain it, he said in the hours following his overdose, something changed. He watched the snow fall from the window of Parkview Behavioral Health as he waited for 8 a.m. to arrive. As it did, he contacted a family member who worked at Avenues Recovery. He went to the rehab facility the next day.
“I was scared deep down,” Sebring admitted. “I thought that it wouldn’t hold up, that I would get bored and complacent. They say if you make it past six months, the odds are in your favor. I’m way past the six months and I could never imagine going back. I know if I ever did, it would be a conscious decision to have a miserable life.”
Sebring said he feels that Avenues gave him a solid foundation to move forward and start a life in recovery.
Sebring’s grandmother read from a letter he wrote to her during his time at the facility: “This is the most authentic place I have ever experienced. I’m two days in and already feel like a different person. I have never been more positive in my life. I have a long way to go, but I’m excited about the future. Thank you guys for never giving up on me. I’m not coming back on my hands and knees, but with my head held high.”
His mother also recalled a letter she received from Sebring during his time in rehab where he stated what was most impactful: peer recovery specialists. The people who helped Sebring in the early days of recovery had a unique understanding of the battle of addiction. Their presence was a warm welcome on the road to recovery.
Judge Kenton Kiracofe commended him on his growth during his sentencing hearing last December. As Sebring sat on the stand, he explained that after rehab, he obtained a new job and went to the Department of Child Services to seek visitation with his two children.
“Mr. Sebring appears to be someone who dug himself into a very deep hole,” Kiracofe said before his ruling. “There were a lot of corners, especially in the paternity cases where he had to prove himself and battle back in those cases. I think his motivation and what appears to be the change here is sincere. I recognize it is probably every day he has to make some hard decisions. In short, you’re doing a good job.”
Sebring received a fully suspended sentence for the charges. Before he learned this, he acknowledged his past with the addiction. He then chose to issue a statement for the first time.
“I’ve never said anything (at a hearing), because I’ve never had anything to say,” Sebring said. “If you take alcohol and drugs out of the equation, I never would have been in this room. I am excited to move on with hope and possibility — regardless of the outcome here today.”
Not a stranger to the criminal justice system, Sebring received his first criminal charge in 2011 for possession of an alcoholic beverage as a minor. However, he said his addiction began even earlier when he was prescribed Vicodin for a broken hand in high school. The medication sat in a cabinet in his house for quite some time until a friend told him it could make him feel “high.”
“I took a couple of them,” Sebring said. “From that moment until the beginning of (last) year, that was it. I had to have some kind of a buzz. I cannot stress this enough — sober was not an option. I would drink a bottle of cough syrup if I had to.”
In fact, the same evening he was crowned homecoming king at Norwell High School, he had just been released from the hospital for a near overdose from Xanax. Sebring said most people in his life were not aware, however, they knew of his use of alcohol. He explained that it was not until 2018 that he quit drinking.
“I was an alcoholic hardcore until I started using meth full time,” Sebring explained. “For that reason, I was able to justify it. I felt like I had to get on dope to get off alcohol.”
Sebring said this is a common occurrence among people addicted to alcohol, a reflection of how addiction can often be progressive. Though he has found success in his recovery over the last year, this is not the first time Sebring has experienced sobriety. He explained that he was off of substances for nearly 15 months while he was incarcerated for driving while under the influence. He had planned to stay sober.
“When you get clean like that, you think that’s what you want to do,” Sebring said. “The fact is that I still had a lot of lessons to learn. At that time, I always thought that if I was going to be sober it’s because I had to be for legal reasons or someone would find out. It’s taken me a long time to figure out why I need to be sober. Every day I see it more.”
Sebring noted that the proper diagnosis and medication were instrumental to his recovery. In fact, without treatment, he believes it would be far more difficult to stay sober. Like many in addiction, Sebring’s anxiety was a chair under the knob on the door to recovery.
He also acknowledged that a significant amount of addicts do not have family or support to assist with resources in getting and staying sober. He said that he doesn’t know where he would be without the support that he has, however, he does believe rehab can work.
“When you’re on drugs, you talk about what you need to do to get clean,” Sebring said. “But when that high wears off — it’s over. That’s all out the window. When I got to rehab, they taught me that they’re not there to teach you not to do drugs. They’re there to teach you a different way to think. You see a transformation of every person in there, including yourself if that’s what you want to do.”
He holds deep gratitude for his family. Dodane recounted how his sisters would make him a sandwich and set it outside of the house for him to pick up. As the mother of an addict, she provided what he needed, but did not give him money to support his addiction. She struggled to draw lines in the sand.
“I took that the wrong way,” Sebring said. “For years, I knew in my heart that my parents don’t care about me. I would hype up how miserable I am, and how hopeless and pointless everything is. That’s just how I was for so long. It’s like a spiral, a domino effect of things that happen in your mind and in your life. The more you use, the more out of sorts you get with reality and the fact that you are destroying yourself.”
“If you’re not sober, I’m not fighting the fight for you,” Dodane declared. “If you’re sober, I will fight tooth and nail. I will go to battle for you every time.”
“The day you start using drugs is the day you stop maturing,” Sebring added. “I don’t even know where to start sometimes because I feel like I am starting my adulthood. I have stunted my growth and taken a 12-year delay. I feel like now I’m finally living. It’s just so different in a good way. The worst part about it all is that you can’t really help anybody. But I hope people in this place will read this and know they can recover.”
Since the beginning of 2024, Sebring has gone on to earn his Welding License at Perma Column in Ossian. He also earned his license back after 12 years of suspension. In addition, he was awarded unsupervised parenting time with his son. He said he has hope for his future, a reflection of how recovery can often be progressive.
“Overdosing was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Sebring concluded. “Even if I would have gone to jail, I would still go back and do it all over again the same way. I’ve never heard anyone get clean and say they don’t like it. I have never heard anyone that is addicted say they like it.”
Confidential and free resources are available by calling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration hotline at 1-800-662-4357.
