ONE INJECTION OF HEROIN AND MY SUSAN WAS DEAD

SHE was trying to put her nomadic life behind her in a bid to be
reunited with her two young sons.

But in a moment of weakness and battling depression, Susan Lothian
was given her first taste of heroin.

She overdosed and just one hour later she was dead.

The 21-year-old was given the drug by another resident at the
homeless accommodation in Broomhouse and, while a procurator fiscal
investigation into her death is ongoing, her family have been left to
pick up the pieces and look after her two-and-a-half-year-old son
Lewis and 18-month-old Steven.

Susan's family were later told she had enough heroin in her system to
kill a baby horse but drug experts today warned even a small amount
of heroin was enough to kill and urged drug users and those around
them to heed the warning signs of an overdose.

Life started to go downhill for Susan last summer when she was living
with her two sons in a flat in Moredun and was struggling to cope as
she battled with bouts of depression and self-harm.

The family agreed that her youngest son Steven would go and live with
his dad in Prestonpans while Lewis moved in with Susan's mum in Craigentinny.

The following months saw Susan drift in and out of homelessness,.
However, she remained in regular contact with her children.

At the turn of the year she went on the waiting list for a council
home and family members said she appeared to pulling her life
together before the fatal overdose on June 1.

Susan's dad Andrew Lothian, 48, of Cockenzie, said his daughter had
vowed never to touch heroin after seeing its deadly consequences from
an early age.

He said: "She had definitely had her fair share of troubles in life
but she was now focused on getting herself together and getting her
kids back. It is just so hard to believe.

"I used to work in the Cowgate day centre and I would take Susan
along with me so she would see the results of people using heroin -
it scared her off.

"We were told she was a bit down on the day that she died and she had
asked this guy if she could try heroin but the police told us she had
enough in her system to knock out a baby horse.

"We still don't know the full story behind her death but I know for a
fact that she had never tried it before - we are still trying to come
to terms with what has happened.

"Her mum, Susan, takes Lewis up to the cemetery at Piershill when she
goes to lay flowers on Susan's grave but he is more interested in the
squirrels.

"I suppose the boys will find out what happened one day - it's such a
waste of a young life."

Susan's mum Susan Pheely, 38, has brought up young Lewis at her
Craigentinny home since August last year and said the toddler was too
young to understand that his mum will not be visiting again.

She said: "I was seeing her nearly every other day when she came to
visit Lewis and I'd have known if she was on heroin.

"She was something of a free spirit when she was younger but she was
waiting to get a flat and really wanted to get her bairns back.

"There are plenty of young people like Susan who might get involved
with this sort of thing for the first time and don't realise what will happen."

Susan was discovered by staff in her room at the YMCA Broomhouse
supported accommodation on Broomhouse Medway.

Dougie Peddie, area manager for YMCA Glasgow, which runs the
Broomhouse flats on behalf of the city council, said the facility had
a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs or alcohol in the premises.

He said: "The circumstances surrounding Susan's death were really
tragic and she wasn't a known drug user, which made it all the more surprising.

"The difficulty we have is that we offer supported accommodation and
our residents have a degree of independence - it is not a secured unit.

"For most people that use our service the fact that they are homeless
is not the only issue in their life and this can spill into their time here.

"But it is not a bed and breakfast we are operating. Each person that
comes to us has to use the support workers available to try and agree
a plan for them - as far as we know Susan was well on course with
her's, which is why it came as such a shock."

The latest figures show there were 17 deaths in the Lothians
involving heroin in 2004 compared to 29 deaths in 2001. This bucks
the national trend where there was a four per cent increase of
heroin-related deaths.

Recent Scotland-wide research discovered that 48 per cent of
overdoses occurred in the vicinity of other people and campaigners
have called for more education of drug users in terms of what they
can do when they discover someone who has overdosed. David Liddle,
director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: "This death highlights
the danger of the drug, particularly for people with no tolerance to
heroin because it is their first time. Even a small amount of the
drug can kill.

"Heroin can have that attraction to those who are vulnerable and feel
that nothing is going right for them -it can offer a blanket for people.

"There has been a recognition that people tend to die of overdoses
when they are with people, be it friends or family, and there is
things they can do to intervene and potentially save a life."

A council spokeswoman said: "We undertook an audit of the facility
following the incident and are satisfied that proper management and
resident monitoring arrangements are in place.

"Sadly, drug misuse is a widespread problem across all communities
and its prevalence is high among people who are homeless.

"We do not condone drug use and we and our partners take active steps
to address issues around problematic substance use."

Clear Head Needed When Dabbling Goes Dangerously Wrong

Main signs of a drug overdose:
. Person has collapsed
. Pale skin colour/blue lips/blue fingernails
. Person will not wake up or react to loud noises
. Shallow breathing or disrupted breathing
. Person has slow or faint pulse
. Unusually heavy snoring/rasping breaths

What to do:
. Don't assume someone is just sleeping
. Place the person on the floor
. Put them in recovery position (on their side, one arm and leg bent
and tilt head backwards)
. Phone 999 - nothing you can do will bring someone round
. Do not leave them alone - if you have to get help yourself, make
sure they can't roll over on to their back
. Don't give them other drugs to help bring them round
. Don't put the person in the shower/bath
. Don't walk the person around to try to revive them
. Wait till ambulance arrives and try to tell the paramedic what the
person has taken.