A Long Island father designed a video game to prevent future unnecessary deaths from fentanyl poisoning after the passing of his son.
Newsday reported that the Miami-based company TGA published Kamal Bherwani’s first-person awareness video game earlier this August.
The story is loosely based on Bherwani’s 24-year-old daughter, Ava. Here, her mission is to trace the events that ultimately led to her brother, Ethan’s, death.
Through the game titled “Johanna’s Vision,” users learn about the signs of fentanyl poisoning and how to treat it with naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan — the nasal spray that rapidly reverses opioid overdose.
Bherwani told Newsday, “There will be a lot of people saved through the save that don’t even know they’re going to get saved.”
As of today, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45. According to the CDC, in 2023 alone, there were 81,083 deaths from opioid overdose in the US. This number continues to rise as illicit fentanyl pours unchecked through America’s border via China, Mexico and India.
In 2021, Bherwani’s 22-year-old son purchased the laced cocaine from a drug dealer at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. Ethan had little awareness of fentanyl as he collapsed at a blackjack table after consuming drugs from Jerrad Santigo. Fifteen minutes later, when help arrived, no one administered naloxone. Ten days later, Ethan died.
Bherwani told Newsday that he doesn’t diminish his son’s choice to use but presses for a certain level of criminal accountability on these drug dealers, which typically is brushed aside or not pursued.
… You also can’t deny the fact that the person who gave him something, and he had no idea it was fentanyl, you can’t deny the fact there was accountability there.
Bherwani wishes to commit his life to advocate for his son and others who have succumbed to deadly opioids. He further told the outlet that perhaps the best way to maximize messaging is to change the language away from connotations of addiction.
If you overdose, you’re doing it to yourself. If you’re poisoned, someone is doing it to you.
The founder of TGA, Tomas Giovanetti, told Newsday his company is much on board with Bherwani and wishes to “harness the potential of games not just for entertainment, but as a means to educate and inspire change on a broader scale.”
We want to bring the harsh realities of fentanyl use into the light in a way that is both engaging and educational.
According to Bherwani, in the first six days, the video game had already had 1,000 downloads, including 30 people who had completed the game.
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The video game can be found in Apple and Google app stores as well as online.
