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Youngsville man survives exposure to fentanyl and methamphetamine
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YOUNGSVILLE, La. (KLFY) -- For Cody Mullen the day started just like any other, stopping at a local gas station to buy a gallon of water.
Mullen said the day started off like any normal day.
"I went back to my office, happened to eat a couple of handfuls of cashews, didn't wash my hands," he said.
Shortly after, Mullen said the day took a turn for the worse when he began feeling ill. While he initially thought it could be the flu, the downward spiral continued.
"On the way home, I started getting a little like, more lightheaded, just like slightly disoriented and passed out," Mullen said. "I just. I had the shakes really bad. I was freezing, but I was running a fever. I developed this really bad dry cough."
Throughout the night Mullen noticed his heart rate was north of 200 bpm and the chills and shakes were intensifying.
"At that point, I probably should've gone to the hospital. When looking down, I could see my chest hair vibrating off my chest," he said.
The next day, the symptoms stopped but left Mullen feeling pain in his joints and organs, a friend in law enforcement told Mullen he may have been drugged as drug residue could have been left on the change he received from the store.
"And before I even finished telling him, he's like "You had definitely an exposure to at least fentanyl, and it sounds like probably meth," he said.
The two drugs counteracting each other may be the only reason for Mullen's Survival.
"Fentanyl slows your heart to eventually the point where it stops obviously if you take too much. And methamphetamines ramp you up. And so, you know, a few people I talk to, doctors, a couple of other people were like 'The methamphetamines, if you had enough fentanyl in on your system, methamphetamines actually kept your heart going,'" said Mullen.
With extensive damage to his kidney and liver, Mullen would have a stroke as a result of the drug exposure leading to a nine day stay in the ICU.
With many questions still left unanswered and a long road to recovery, Mullen is dedicating his time to spreading a message that you should stay vigilant.
"It's just staying up to date with what the possibilities are, what surfaces things can be on," he said. "You know, like this might have been a one in a million thing that could have happened. It just happened to happen to me. You know, so just always be vigilant about anything you pick up, anything you get from anybody else. And even like a situation like this could have been money that came out of the register. And, you know, I just happened to be the one that took the lick on it. And, you know, I'm if it saved somebody else's life, I guess you'd say it was worth it."
Today, Mullen is still recovering and continuing to get checkups on his heart.
"This is a real thing, this just happened to me," said Mullen.