Public Service Announcement...Don't Do Drugs

I can never work in a childrens hospital. I just did surgery on a 22 yr old boy to put a drain in his brain. He had cerebral spinal fluid building up on his brain. His roomates said he had been doing ecstasy for a month , he developed mono from it, which then led to bacterial meningitis. 22 years old. He's basically knocking on heavens door at the moment. Normally things like this don't affect me at all, i've learned over the years of doing this to detach myself, however this really kind of hit a nerve. I'm not sure if it was his age and he hadn't lived yet or because he was out having a "good" time and really had no idea what the long-term effects could be, that really bothers me. It was almost as if i watching it unfold in a movie. You always hear of these types of sad stories and think, "oh, thats so sad, too bad," but to actually experience it (even this way) gives you a whole new perspective. If he lives through this...which unfortunately is a small chance, he's not going to be anything like he used to be.
It seriously makes me want to go home and tell my seven year old never to do drugs. I feel fortunate in the sense that i can teach him how bad they really are just through what i've witnessed at work. When we brought the patient back to the ICU, his family was in the waiting area, i couldn't even look at them. It broke my heart. Such a young life....wasted. And it didnt have to be this way.
Unfortunately, bacterial meningitis is extremely contagious, so extra precautions are being taken on my behalf. Like a shower before i go home. I most certainly dont want to be taking this home to my little boy. We took off everything that we were wearing from home, i.e. earrings, watches, rings, i even put hospital socks on over my own. So, i'm actually gonna head down to the locker room to shower now...i just really needed to clear my head of all these thoughts racing through it.

So my PSA: DON'T DO DRUGS!! IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!