'We never want another parent to go through this'

Sean Harrison remembers Oct. 7, 2008, as the second worst day of his life.

That Tuesday, he and his wife Nichole were notified by Douglas County juvenile probation officers that their son, Sean Jr., had been arrested for using drugs.

Upset and determined to teach his son a lesson, Harrison left the 17-year-old at the juvenile probation office in Minden as long as he could, finally picking up the Douglas High School junior at 4:30 p.m., a half hour before the office closed.

"Sean came in the office and his demeanor was unbelievable," Harrison said. "I had never seen anyone high before."

Juvenile Probation Officer Tammy Morris, who has dealt with dozens of Seans and their parents, suspected he had used more than marijuana.

Sean tested positive for Ecstasy.

"My heart was about to drop," Harrison said. "I thought my world came to an end. My son " he's a druggie."

Harrison, 38, took his son home and his wife stripped Sean's bedroom.

"We left him with a bed, a dresser and a desk," Harrison said.

Sean was suspended for 10 days, but the school allowed him back after five days when he completed a drug awareness program.

He stayed clean until Nov. 18.

That was the worst day of the Harrisons' lives.

"The Douglas County Sheriff's Office called and said Sean had a drug overdose and they were taking him to Carson-Tahoe.

"At that point, I thought it was as if he were dead. No parent should outlive your child, you live for your kids," Harrison said. "You just wonder at that point in time if you will ever be able to say another word to him. You can't express in words the feeling of hurt, loss and letdown."

He arrived at Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center moments before paramedics brought Sean.

"I saw my son and I knew he was OK," Harrison said.

Harrison found out that Sean had taken the equivalent of 24 Ecstasy tablets just before lunch in his history class at Douglas High School.

One of his friends told Sean he was too high to go to class after lunch so he took the boy to his house.

The friend's parent came home at 2 p.m. and seeing Sean's reaction to the drug called 911.

Sean was treated and released from the hospital a few hours later.

"He was high until 9 or 10 p.m.," Harrison said. "He just sat in his room."

This time, the penalties were more severe. Harrison said the sales transaction was caught on Douglas High School security tape. He allegedly purchased the Ecstasy outside the school media center.

Sean was expelled from school and sent to Western Nevada Regional Youth Center in Silver Springs for a minimum of 90 days.

His parents requested both steps be taken.

"His drug use was becoming habitual and Sean needed help we couldn't give him," Harrison said. "Sean was really shocked we did nothing to stop him from being sent to WNRYC. But he understood that 'whatever you give me I'll have to do.'"

The Harrisons are allowed up to three visits a week with their son.

As a family, they elected to go on Sundays.

There is a one-hour family group meeting followed by a one-hour visit with Sean.

"If we don't involve the whole family, we'll go down that road again and we only want to go down once," Nichole Harrison said. "Every human could learn from the stuff we hear in there (WNRYC)."

Sean's five younger brothers and sisters miss him.

"It's probably hardest on Sean's 9-year-old sister. Every time we leave him, she says, 'I miss you. I love you. Don't forget me,'" Harrison said.

The Harrisons have been open with their children about Sean's problems.

"The other kids are learning more than they would have had this not happened," Harrison said.

"The children's dynamics have changed. For example, Sean always looked up to his younger brother. When he came home at Christmas, he took the initiative in an issue with his sister. When he left, she said, 'I actually had an older brother,'" Harrison said.

The overdose and the aftermath have changed the family.

"I feel different about things. I feel vulnerable," Harrison said. "I learned you have a right not to trust your kids, you have a need to question."

"We've changed since Sean got in trouble," said Nichole, 35. "We search their rooms."

She looks for the "blessings in disguise."

Sean told his parents during a home visit that he didn't want to go back to Douglas High School. Because he was expelled, Sean will repeat his junior year.

"He said, 'I don't want to going back to doing the drugs. I don't want to have to say no to them. He said drugs are everywhere. I think that's a valid reason,'" she said.

The Harrisons are exploring education options for Sean.

They wanted to know if Sean was ready to give up the drugs.

"As a parent I wanted to hear him say, 'I don't want to do drugs " they're bad, they're illegal,'" Harrison said.

"What he said was, 'Hell, yes, I want Ecstasy right now. I want that euphoric feeling, but I don't want what comes with it. I want to be home, I want my bed, my pillow, my freedom.' I have learned to accept his reasoning," Harrison said.

"As far as the nail-biting about what will happen, how are we going to handle it? We're going to have to take it one day at a time. He understands we're on his side. No matter what, he can rely on us more," Nichole said.

Harrison said his son is more open with his parents and they are more open with all the children.

"Life changed inside our house. We play more board games with the kids, we have more opportunities to talk. We've experienced this, and we're better for it. But there are only seven of us at home until Sean gets back and that's hard," he said.

The Harrisons talk with their children about not being afraid to tell a teacher or other adult if they see students at school using drugs.

"Kids are afraid to say anything," Nichole said. "We tell our kids it's OK and something you do could be saving another person's life. If you see someone in trouble, get help."

Harrison, an avid skydiver, formed "Skydivers High on Life Expo" and put on a demonstration at the youth treatment center.

"It's about getting high on life without getting high, about finding what you enjoy doing," Harrison said.

The Harrisons urge parents to attend the symposium Wednesday.

"We want to get the word out to the community that we have a problem and we can work together to resolve it," Nichole said. "I don't think any of us are out to tell parents how to parent."

Through their experience with Sean, the Harrisons have learned about themselves as parents.

"I think anybody who experiences a child with drug use, counseling is your first option. That's where you deal with your anger, with the feelings that you let your child down, that you didn't teach them, that it's your fault," Harrison said.

"Then you realize as a parent you can let your child grow up. You learn you're responsible for your kids, but it's not all about their day-to-day actions. What they do is up to them. We told Sean we should have allowed him to grow up more. We see him not as a young teenager, but as a young man. We treat him that way. The purpose of being a kid is to learn how to be an adult," Harrison said.