DAYTON — A family is on a mission to make sure other families are aware of the deadly dangers of fentanyl after they lost their daughter to an accidental overdose.
As reported on News Center 7 at 11, Lilly Hogue never got to celebrate her 21st birthday because she accidentally overdosed on fentanyl, and her family started Project Fallen Lily to help combat Fentanyl overdoses.
“What is the price that you’re willing to pay for not listening for a few minutes to our story and to what we have to say, because the price we paid is the greatest one of all,” Tresser Hogue, the Founder of Project Fallen Lily said.
The lives of Hogue and the rest of her family was forever changed on Nov. 7, 2022. Hogue’s daughter Lily was out with her boyfriend and some friends.
“430 in the morning, we got a phone call from her boyfriend, and he said the paramedics are here at her best friend’s house, and they’re working on her,” Hogue said.
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The family still doesn’t know how fentanyl got into Lilly’s system.
“We heard that it could have possibly been just a jello shot that could have been leased. It could have been they had, you know, she had had Four Lokos that night,” Hogue said.
They believe she could have been saved had someone used Narcan on her, but instead, the group waited 17 minutes for emergency crews to arrive.
Medical Professionals say that a 4-milligram dose of Narcan works long enough to keep people alive until emergency crews take over.
Hogue said that for whoever will listen, her message is simple.
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“Don’t take anything that you don’t know. You didn’t see someone pour yourself or pour yourself if you walk away from your drink, throw it away,” Hogue said.
The family said they will never forget Lilly’s smile and the love she shared with others. That was what inspired Project Fallen Lilly.
Since March, Project Fallen Lilly has given away 400 Narcan test kits.
“If you take medications that have some sort of opium base, then you should have Narcan in your home and or you should have it on your person,” Hogue said.
Hogue told News Center 7 that they have expanded the nonprofit outside of the state now, and reaches as far as Georgia and New York to spread awareness.
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