As a 16-year-old Oak Bay High School student lay unconscious in a hospital bed after a house party last month, doctors and nurses “pulled her ears and screamed his name in vain,” says his mother, Jodie Laframboise. “My worst nightmare.”

It was October 4 and Laframboise’s daughter Georgia had gone to a party at the home of a close friend, also a student at Oak Bay High School, with the intention of sleeping there.

However, around 11:45 p.m., organizers ended the event because attendance had unexpectedly doubled and the gathering had become noisy.

As about 50 partygoers headed to Domino’s Pizza on Foul Bay Road at Oak Bay Avenue, Georgia felt strange, like her head was spinning. She immediately started vomiting and passed out on the grass, she said. Her friend called her father.

Father Kyle – the Colonist of time agreed not to use his last name – said he arrived at the scene about 10 to 15 minutes later and found his daughter lying on the ground “totally unconscious, like a big limp noodle.”

He couldn’t take her pulse and “her head was just tilting forward,” he said, adding that she had no control over her extremities and was in danger of choking.

Kyle picked up his daughter, loaded her into his truck and raced to the nearby Royal Jubilee Hospital – one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding his daughter’s head upright.

At the hospital, a team of clinicians quickly surrounded the girl and hurriedly took her away, opening her gown and tending to her, he said.

Kyle called his ex-wife around midnight.

“I immediately thought she had had an accident or died,” Laframboise said. “My heart almost stopped – I wanted to vomit. Her father had just arrived at Jubilee and told her that her pulse was weak and that she was completely unconscious.

Georgia’s potassium levels were low and her heart rate was depressed. Blood tests showed his blood alcohol level was low – the result of a few drinks.

Georgia said she brought three cans of Mike’s Hard Lemonade to the party, an amount she had consumed in the past with no ill effects. “That’s all I drank that night,” she said.

Further testing ruled out the possibility of toxic illicit drugs such as fentanyl in his system.

“I felt sick and beside myself – not knowing if she was going to wake up was the hardest part,” Kyle said. “I just kept praying for her, sitting there just to see some kind of movement or something.”

Given Georgia’s symptoms, the clinical team quickly suspected GHB — gamma-hydroxybutyrate — or a similar drug, Kyle said. The results of these toxicological tests are not yet available.

Laframboise said she was “genuinely shocked” that this could have happened at a high school party in Oak Bay. “That seems too extreme to be true for this age group, but I guess access and availability of medications is easier than ever.” »

GHB, a pharmaceutical product also produced illegally as a street drug, is a central nervous system depressant.

It most often comes in the form of an odorless and tasteless liquid rather than in powder or capsule form. At low doses it can mimic the effects of alcohol, while at higher concentrations it can go from drowsiness and dizziness to nausea and vomiting, even sending a person into a deep sleep with possible subsequent amnesia.

An overdose can lead to difficulty breathing, decreased heart rate, seizures and death, according to the Ontario Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

GHB was popular as a club drug in the 1990s, but eventually became known as a date rape drug, sometimes slipped into a person’s drink to facilitate a sexual assault.

Mixed with alcohol, it can be “extremely dangerous,” according to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health.

Victoria’s mother, Tracy Sims, recently learned that the 2021 death of her 18-year-old daughter, Samantha Sims-Somerville, from a toxic combination of alcohol and drugs, is now under investigation as a homicide. Sims has fought for years to prove that her daughter and a friend were lured by older men and drugged with lethal doses of GHB.

About six hours after Georgia’s strange symptoms began – around 6 a.m. – her eyelids started blinking.

She said she was “stunned” to find out she was in hospital. “I was happy to be alive,” she said. “It was very scary.”

She thinks she knows who might have drugged her — someone who was part of a group that allegedly drugged other girls in the past, she said.

On Monday, she filed a complaint with the police.

Saanich police confirmed they are investigating a report that an individual was drugged at a party in Oak Bay, but said they would not comment further as it is an investigation active.

Police have called binge drinking an “under-reported crime” and said anyone who believes they were given a substance without their knowledge should contact them.

Beverage tampering investigations may lead police to recommend charges of administration of a noxious substance or possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Insp. Damian Kowalewich said the ministry’s community engagement division works with Island Health to offer preventative programs like PARTY. programproviding education on the risks associated with alcohol and drugs.

He advises not to leave a drink unattended, to cover the neck of your glass or bottle to prevent something from slipping in, to watch your drink being poured or opened and not to consume a drink if it changes taste or color.

The Greater Victoria School District said in a statement that the Oak Bay High School administration is aware of concerns about potential drug use at parties in the community. He thanked those “who raised these concerns” and the police who are following up, and reminded students of the counseling services available.

Laframboise, a counselor, said parents and others need to be transparent with young people about the dangers of such gatherings and advise young people on how to keep themselves and their friends safe.

She said she and Georgia’s father always informed their children about potential risks at parties.

“(And) we have always made it very clear to our children that no matter what trouble they are in, they can always call and we will come get them immediately,” Laframboise said.

Kyle maintains his daughter could have choked on her vomit if he hadn’t been called.

As for Georgia, she is undergoing additional heart tests to check for any permanent damage, and is no longer attending parties or sleepovers for the time being.

She said she was speaking out to raise awareness and prevent future incidents like hers, adding that young women should not be afraid to come together.

“No girl deserves to go through what I went through,” Georgia said. “We’re just trying to have fun without having to worry about getting drugged and almost dying.”

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