Hal Pyzyna of Lexington was 35 when he died of an opioid overdose a little more than a month after leaving an Addiction Recovery Care facility. (Photo provided)
Striving to stay sober, Hal Pyzyna succeeded for nearly a decade until the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020 — the stress causing him to relapse into drug use, said his mother, Kristine Pyzyna.
She hoped he would get help through a court diversion program that in 2022 referred him to Crown Recovery Center in Springfield.
Instead — just days after he became violently ill from an injection of Vivitrol, a powerful anti-abuse drug his mother says her son was pressured to accept — he left Crown Center, operated by Addiction Recovery Care , or ARC, the state’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment.
And little more than a month later, Hal died at 35 from a drug overdose.
Kristine Pyzyna believes Vivitrol, a name-brand drug that blocks effects of opioids, was a factor, along with improper administration of the medication at ARC and lack of adequate education for her son. The drug, while considered effective, comes with serious risks including potential for a fatal overdose if a patient uses drugs before the injection wears off because of reduced tolerance to opioids, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.