Styrofoam Pills | Teen Ink

Styrofoam Pills MAG

March 1, 2019
By seidmel19 BRONZE, Sammamish, Washington
seidmel19 BRONZE, Sammamish, Washington
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter


I wake up to the sound of my mom’s voice. I open my eyes to see nothing but inky darkness outside my window. Groggily, I check my watch: 2:19 a.m. Instinctively, I curl back up under my warm nest of blankets. But my mom grows frantic, and as I become more awake, I start to make out her words.

“Oh my god, oh my god! What did you take? What did you take?!”

Fueled by sudden fear, I jump out of bed and rush into the hallway to my younger sister’s room. Something is very, very wrong. The lights are on. My mom, close to tears, is trying to drag my sister out of her bed.

She’s so pale, trying and failing to keep her dilated blue eyes open. Her skin is paper white. Blond curls lie plastered to her head and her face is slick with sweat. Weakly, she tries to move her arm, only for it to slump back to the floor. Her blue bedspread is tangled in her legs, revealing the rumpled sheets below. Within seconds, I can tell that she has overdosed.

I run to wake up my dad and older sister, pulling them out of bed as I urgently explain. A few minutes later, my dad is holding my sister upright over the toilet as she attempts to throw up. As the seconds tick by, I can tell she is getting worse. Her eyes close even more, and she can now barely keep her head from slumping to the side like a toddler on the verge of nodding off.

“Call 911,” Dad tells me in a tense voice. Retracing my steps to my bedroom, I reach for my phone and dial the dreaded number. The operator picks up.

Trying to stay calm, I explain the emergency. He adds another operator to the call, and asks me a number of questions: What’s your name? what’s your address? Has anything like this happened before? The questions blur together. His voice is neutral and professional as he tells me that an ambulance is on the way. Eventually, he asks me the question that I’ve been dreading answering out loud.

“Did she overdose by accident, or was it an intentional act?”

“It was intentional,” I manage to reply.

My mom runs up to me, holding a clear box with five medicine bottles. She explains through tears that most of my older sister’s bottles had been emptied. I quickly relay the information to the 911 operator. My mouth feels numb, as if the words that are leaving it aren’t my own. This can’t be happening. Or … is it?

What seems like seconds later, I’m standing at the front door, leading the EMTs to my
sister as the chilled night air fills the front hall. They lay her on her side in the hallway, and she starts to throw up. With it comes what looks like bits of Styrofoam, littering the carpet. Looking closer, I can see that they’re small white pills, yet to be fully digested. My sister is still barely conscious, trying to answer their questions. They bring her downstairs in a stretcher, carrying her to the ambulance. We are told to meet them at the hospital.

I drive with my elder sister in one car, and my mom and dad take the other. All the while, the image of a weak body in the orange stretcher is all I can see. After silently waiting in the ER lobby for 30 minutes, we are allowed to visit her.

She looks terrible. Paler than she’s ever been. She is so tired that she starts to nod off every few seconds. Her now ruined shirt has been replaced by a thin hospital gown, and she shivers beneath the thin blanket on the bed. We talk to her for a while, and eventually find out that she is going to be transferred. She needs to be monitored for seizures.

She doesn’t come home for almost two weeks. My sister was admitted into an inpatient program. I visit her and am relieved to see her moving around and interacting almost like normal. But I can see the fear and stress in her tense muscles and quick temper. By the time she comes home, we have hidden everything that she could use to hurt herself. Knives, scissors, medicines, razors.

She’s terrified of loud noises now. She flinches when I use the ice dispenser, or if anyone yells. Her room is her safe place, and you have to be invited in, otherwise she grows frantic.

My sister doesn’t remember anything from that night. But I will never forget the terror I felt, seeing my beloved baby sister laying on the ground surrounded by pills and paramedics.

Every day, I walk over a beige, fluffy rug outside my room. Beneath my feet are the remaining stains of the Styrofoam pills that once scattered on the floor. I continue walking, uncovered feet feeling soft wool concealing forever marred carpet.


The author's comments:

This is a memoir that I wrote to help me process the experience my family and I went through when my sister attempted suicide.


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This article has 26 comments.


Lydiame2 said...
on Mar. 5 at 12:20 pm
Lydiame2, Cannon Falls, Minnesota
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
Cant belive this. Thankful that she is all right but so, so sad.

give_orange said...
on Jan. 20 at 12:48 pm
give_orange, Holifax, FunnyPizzaLand
0 articles 0 photos 9 comments

Favorite Quote:
Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you

Beautiful piece of literature.

on Oct. 25 2023 at 9:22 pm
MrAbyss PLATINUM, Cincinnati, Ohio
41 articles 15 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Normality is a paved road, but no flowers grow on it.” -Vincent Van Gogh

Some of us can relate to stories like this regarding self harm or suicide attempts. Those actions always just transfer paint to the witnesses. The author of this piece was very bold to put this out there, it’s much appreciated by us all. Thank you for bringing up the courage to write and share this.

on Jan. 23 2023 at 1:58 pm
Quaint_Quincy SILVER, Hutchinson, Minnesota
5 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"Light can be found even in the darkest of times if only one remembers to turn on the light."
-Albus Dumbledore.

Hi. So, I know I'm a few years late to the party. I..just wanted to say..that...I had no idea that that goes through people's minds when people try and commit suicide. I attempted twice myself, and it was always for a different reason. I went through the same thing but was on the end of those pills. I hope you and your family, especially your sister, are doing alright now. I now see that no one deserves to go through this, no matter what position you are in. I wish you all the best.

sarahsevak said...
on Jan. 11 2022 at 9:08 pm
sarahsevak, Frisco, Texas
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
Hi i feel the need to tell you this. I went through the exact same thing, but I was the older sister. Woke up in the middle of the night, found my little sister took my pills, the 911 questions, the inpatient program, the hiding the sharp objects and meds, her being a ghost of herself, everything. I cried reading this because it was exactly what I went through. I don't know how long ago this was, but I promise it does get better. My sister is doing so much better now, and she is better then she has ever been. She will get better. If u want to talk my instagram is @sarahsevak :) all my love xx

lilianjurj said...
on Oct. 7 2021 at 1:20 pm
lilianjurj, Lake Orion, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
i am so sorry about your sister but this is really good and i am glad that you have written this

on Apr. 27 2021 at 8:28 am
bayleesmith123, Halifax, Nova Scotia
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
terribly sorry about your sister this was written very well

on Feb. 25 2021 at 6:41 pm
MackenzieM1213 BRONZE, Toronto, Ontario
3 articles 0 photos 1 comment
You so eloquently describe a horrific ordeal...I hope all is well.

on Nov. 10 2020 at 9:44 pm
AngryPomerainian64 BRONZE, Orting, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There's nothing crueler than letting a dream end midway." -Shota Aizawa

I am so sorry about your sister. you wrote this in such an amazing way and about a serious issue that many families have to deal with you. you brought such a harsh truth to light in a way that is quite good. I send my best to you and your family.

on Nov. 10 2020 at 9:30 pm
AngryPomerainian64 BRONZE, Orting, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There's nothing crueler than letting a dream end midway." -Shota Aizawa

I am so sorry about your sister. you wrote this in such an amazing way and about a serious issue that many families have to deal with you. you brought such a harsh truth to light in a way that is quite good. I send my best to you and your family.

on Oct. 1 2020 at 2:20 pm
bigmikelikesbudlight, Montgomery, Alabama
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
geez bud next time keep it short

on Aug. 10 2020 at 3:45 pm
BrokenBranches BRONZE, Mansfield, Texas
1 article 0 photos 10 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not tell me sky is the limit when there is a footprint on the moon." -Paul Brandt

Thank you for writing this. My brother overdosed as well, although he was less lucky than others. This has touched me in many ways, thank you!

on Jun. 22 2020 at 11:13 am
thatgurlidalina, North Miami, Florida
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Wake up and smell the Caramel Macchiato

wow how horrid im so sorry =(

on May. 24 2020 at 6:39 pm
astupidstarcrossedlover, Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
This was so good. I think it's really important because this kind of stuff needs to be addressed. I hope your sister is doing well now and you are too. Stay strong and keep writing.

AlexisTrans said...
on Mar. 10 2020 at 8:04 pm
AlexisTrans, Winfield, Missouri
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
This one really hit home for me and I now love writing even more than I did before knowing that writing can have this kind of effect on people. You are so good at this I hope you keep going.

Darkside704 said...
on Mar. 5 2020 at 11:57 am
Darkside704, Greenwood, South Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
ahh what isss that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kaylei07 said...
on Jan. 22 2020 at 8:25 pm
Kaylei07, Waterford, Michigan
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
This is really good. My teacher read it to the whole class not to long ago then gave each of us a copy. I really liked it.

on Nov. 20 2019 at 4:07 pm
lailamae04 BRONZE, Fairfax, Virginia
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment
I was the baby sister that overdosed and my brother was the person with look of terror. this hit hard for me to read because I was the one overdosing

on Oct. 16 2019 at 12:34 pm
SergeantSteel82 GOLD, Fort Wayne, Indiana
11 articles 0 photos 30 comments

Favorite Quote:
one of the greatest tragedies of our time is this impression that has been created that science and religion have to be at war.
-Francis Collins

I may never let go of my anger and wrath,
But I will always have the last laugh.
-Corey Taylor

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
-Voltaire

I really hope your sister is ok now, this story hits close to home for me because my little sister almost died about 2 years ago. It was not by overdose, but she was climbing a pine tree in our back yard, when a branch snapped. She fell 12 feet through a less than 1 foot gap in the branches. Thankfully she only broke her arm, but if she had hit a branch on the way down, I would only have 1 sister today.

on Sep. 20 2019 at 9:16 am
Breezette DIAMOND, Uniontown, Arkansas
84 articles 0 photos 58 comments

Favorite Quote:
Every Time I even think of you, all those bad memories just fade away, 'cause your smile's enough, you're enough...

This. was. so. good. I know it was a trying time, but hopefully you've all grown through it. Please, keep writing. The way you wrote, so strong and beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story.