SENIORS AND DRUGS
Ex-sportscaster delivers poignant talk about his own addiction
FRANCONIA >> There was time for lighter moments and comments about Philadelphia sports teams when former 6ABC sportscaster Don Tollefson talked to senior citizens in presentations at three centers, but there was also a serious message from the recovering alcoholic and opioid addict who spent two years in state prison after being convicted of stealing money that had been donated to charitable programs with which he was involved.
“We’ve got a real problem in this country with not just opioids, but prescription drugs,” Tollefson said during a talk at Peter Becker Community in Harleysville.
“It’s estimated that between 7 and 10 million American seniors take one or more drugs which are absolutely unsuitable for a senior citizen — absolutely unsuitable — and yet they’re prescribed again and again and again,” he said.
“Forty percent of senior citizens take five or more medications, and I’m one of them,” Tollefson said before listing the ones he takes.
“We’re setting ourselves up for something,” he said, “which is inherently and sometimes inevitably dangerous.”
In her introduction of Tollefson, Doreen Hespell, administrator for Montgomery County Office of Senior Services, which sponsored the presentations in Norristown, Pottstown and Harleysville, said the department hoped those in attendance would leave with more knowledge about the opioid crisis and awareness of how it could affect themselves or a loved one.
“According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one in three Medicare Part D beneficiaries has received an opioid prescription,” she said.
The amount of opioid misuse by Americans 50 and older has doubled in 12 years, she said.
“Medicare beneficiaries are now the fastest-growing population with diagnosed opioid-use disorders,” Hespell said.
One of the most important things people should be doing is asking questions of their doctors and pharmacists when medications are prescribed, Tollefson said but added statistics show that less than half of seniors ask their doctor any questions.
“We gotta stop being that way. We gotta ask a lot of questions,” Tollefson said.
Two of the biggest questions, he said, are, “Do I really need this?” and “Do I need it at this dosage?”
When he went in for cardiac catheterization, he was asked if he wanted fentanyl as a painkiller, he said.
Following Tollefson’s comments, providers of alternative pain management techniques including yoga, massage, physical therapy, chiropractic care, meditation and acupuncture, presented information about their services.
“There are so many things we can do instead of just taking another pill, and I hope that you will think about that when you leave here today,” Tollefson said during his presentation.
Addicted in 10 days
Tollefson, who since being released from prison in May of 2016 operates the Overcome Thyself recovery ministry, battled alcoholism since he was a teenager, then in later years became addicted to opioids after a serious accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Hespell said.
“I was addicted to Oxycontin in 10 days — 10 days,” Tollefson said.
The disease of addiction will never leave him, he said.
“It cannot be cured. It can be controlled, and for me, it’s been controlled for 2,210 days,” he said as the audience applauded his having been clean and sober for more than six years.
He credited God and several people with having saved his life multiple times. Those involved included people working in rehab who enabled him to see there was a different way to live than as an addict, he said.
“Not only did they tell me I could do it, they showed me how,” he said.
He encouraged people to work together.
“We gotta look out for each other and as a part of a team, we can do so much more than we can as an individual,” Tollefson said. “Whenever you have an opportunity to help someone with their use of drugs or encourage alternatives, please do so.”
As a sportscaster, he went to 27 Super Bowls and reported on Philadelphia sports in 1980 when the Phillies won the World Series and the Eagles, Flyers and 76ers all went to the finals, Tollefson said, but the greatest moment in sports he was a witness to happened at a Special Olympics event.
When the runner in a race who was in last place fell, the one who was in first place and nearing the finish line stopped and went back to pick up the fallen runner and walk with him to the finish line, Tollefson said. One of the contestants was white and the other was black, he said.
“Not once — not once — has anybody asked me which kid was which, ‘cause if the roles had been reversed, the results would’ve been the same,” he said. “You see, an individual victory is never as important as a team accomplishment.”
‘Bad players have to be removed’
He encouraged those in attendance to email elected officials to ask about their plans for dealing with the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.
“There are many, many wonderful people in those industries, but the bad players have to be removed before more Americans die,” Tollefson said. “We have got to make sure that we are making the policymakers make better policy.”
During questions from audience members, one of the attendees mentioned Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy, whose district court is in Montgomeryville and who started the DARA (Drug Addiction Resource Alliance) program.
“Andrea Duffy is saving way more lives than we can count,” Tollefson said.
“What she does is she really tries to steer any defendant she can into drug court,” he said, “and get them treatment.”
There is a strong connection between addiction and crime, he said.
“When I was in state prison, 85 to 90 percent of those of us who were inmates were addicts,” he said.
In answer to another question, Tollefson said safe injection sites are “a terrible, terrible idea.”
“Number one, you’re validating heroin. You’re basically saying it’s OK, we’re not gonna give it to you there, but you can bring it in,” he said.
It’s predicted that opening safe injection sites would add to the number of drug dealers in the area, he said. Although proponents say the people who use the sites will also receive counseling, most of the people getting the injections would probably just leave rather than wait for the counseling, he said.
While some people point to places such as Holland as having successful injection sites, the culture of those countries is different than that of the United States, where the consequences of safe injection sites would be different, he said.
“Some people who advocate them are very wellintentioned, but it’s a bad idea,” he said. “That’s just my personal opinion, but I think I have the research to back it up.”
New programs planned
“I’ve been doing research the past two months on the opioid tragedy and its effects on the health of seniors,” Tollefson said in a telephone interview the day after the Harleysville presentation. “I was unaware of how under the radar the issue is within this age group.”
He’s planning to start new programs for seniors within the next few months, he said.
“The street ministry I do in places like Philadelphia and Camden deals with the obvious need to help people,” he said. “But the senior citizen issue is a hidden aspect — I’m going to be doing more with this in the future.”
Seniors who aren’t addicts themselves may still be feeling the effects, he said.
“Senior citizens are affected in two ways — not only do they have their own health issues, but many people are dealing with children in addiction and are raising grandchildren when their own kids can’t take care of them,” he said.
Gary Bishop, who is a Harleysville resident and one of the people who attended the Peter Becker presentation, said he and his wife, Lois, put out a monthly newsletter that goes to about 100 Pennsylvania prison inmates and one in Arizona.
When Tollefson was in prison, the Bishops began sending the newsletter to him and they have since become friends, Bishop said.
The couple has a daughter who has struggled with alcohol addiction, he said.
“She got in a very low point a couple of years ago and asked Don if he would counsel her and he did,” Bishop said.
“He really is very personable and can talk to anybody,” Bishop said of Tollefson.
“The ministry he has with addicted people, he does very well.”
After the Peter Becker presentation, Bishop said, he took Tollefson to Franconia Heritage restaurant, where Tollefson spoke with several of the other diners.
Tollefson said he had looked forward to getting the Bishops’ newsletter when he was in prison and is now planning to write for it.
Along with the Nov. 6 presentation at Peter Becker Community, there were also ones Oct. 29 at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in Norristown and Nov. 7 at Tri-County Active Adult Center in Pottstown.