“It is unclear to us what happened that night,” said Redding resident Debbie Allen, as she told the Weed High student body about the circumstances that led to the death of her teenage daughter, Shelby Lynn Allen, over one year ago.
Allen explained to her rapt audience, which also consisted of WES eighth graders, that Shelby died from acute alcohol poisoning while drinking with friends at a party.
“I’m not here for Shelby... It’s too late for her. I’m here for you,” Allen told the students on Feb. 18, 2010.
She said her daughter had been drinking shots of vodka and, apparently, had gotten sick. “Her friends propped her up on a toilet and left her. She was not discovered until the next morning.”
Shelby died of acute alcohol poisoning, said Allen, noting that “acute alcohol poisoning is 100 percent preventable if treated shortly thereafter.”
“In her time of need, it was a friend who let her down the most,” said Allen, emphasizing one of her main messages to the young audience — don’t be afraid to call for help, every second counts.
“In the end, it comes down to who you are with,” she said, noting that teenagers should not be afraid of getting in trouble if they call for help. “Everyone is your friend in an emergency,” she added.
Allen said that until her daughter’s death, she knew relatively little about acute alcohol poisoning. Very few people do, she said.
“I had never known of a person dying from a few hours of drinking alcohol,” she said. “Most people have no clue about this.”
“We know that drinking can make you sick and make you hung over, but not that it can kill you,” said Allen.
She told the students that the warning signs of acute alcohol poisoning include vomiting, the inability to rouse the individual, or a semi-conscious or unconscious state.
If you see someone with one or more of these symptoms, she told the youth, call 911 immediately. “Waiting can result in brain damage, coma or death. Don’t be afraid to call; every second counts.”
Visit shelbysrules.com for more information.
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“It is unclear to us what happened that night,” said Redding resident Debbie Allen, as she told the Weed High student body about the circumstances that led to the death of her teenage daughter, Shelby Lynn Allen, over one year ago.
Allen explained to her rapt audience, which also consisted of WES eighth graders, that Shelby died from acute alcohol poisoning while drinking with friends at a party.
“I’m not here for Shelby... It’s too late for her. I’m here for you,” Allen told the students on Feb. 18, 2010.
She said her daughter had been drinking shots of vodka and, apparently, had gotten sick. “Her friends propped her up on a toilet and left her. She was not discovered until the next morning.”
Shelby died of acute alcohol poisoning, said Allen, noting that “acute alcohol poisoning is 100 percent preventable if treated shortly thereafter.”
“In her time of need, it was a friend who let her down the most,” said Allen, emphasizing one of her main messages to the young audience — don’t be afraid to call for help, every second counts.
“In the end, it comes down to who you are with,” she said, noting that teenagers should not be afraid of getting in trouble if they call for help. “Everyone is your friend in an emergency,” she added.
Allen said that until her daughter’s death, she knew relatively little about acute alcohol poisoning. Very few people do, she said.
“I had never known of a person dying from a few hours of drinking alcohol,” she said. “Most people have no clue about this.”
“We know that drinking can make you sick and make you hung over, but not that it can kill you,” said Allen.
She told the students that the warning signs of acute alcohol poisoning include vomiting, the inability to rouse the individual, or a semi-conscious or unconscious state.
If you see someone with one or more of these symptoms, she told the youth, call 911 immediately. “Waiting can result in brain damage, coma or death. Don’t be afraid to call; every second counts.”
Visit shelbysrules.com for more information.
