ROYAL CENTER — When the image of David Parnell’s bloody face appeared on the large screen, the Pioneer High School students gasped.

The photo portrayed Parnell just after he tried to kill himself nearly seven years ago by firing an assault rifle at his head. Parnell, a Tennessee resident and former methamphetamine user, got similar reactions throughout his one-hour presentation on the dangers of illegal drugs. His goal was drug-use prevention through extreme measures.

“I hope to show young people the reality of what drug addiction does to people,” said Parnell, whose face shows the scars of the suicide attempt. “I never felt like this was going to happen to me. I’m sure if you’re using you’ve convinced yourself that nothing like this will happen to you, either, but like I said, you’re playing Russian roulette with your life.”

Other disturbing images that flashed across the screen included photos of children beaten by meth-using parents and meth “cooks” who suffered severe burns and died in explosions. Parnell showed the sore-riddled forearms of a meth user who injected the drug.

Parnell said he started his drug use at age 13 with marijuana. Parnell warned the students that drugs often derail people from their goals and cause mental illness.

“When I started at that young of an age, I never dreamed that years later I was going to be an addict. I thought I was going to be in college playing ball and having a good education,” Parnell said.

By his senior year in high school, the seeds of his 23-year addiction had taken root. Parnell was smoking marijuana every day and drinking alcohol on weekends. He eventually tried cocaine and meth, which he knew from his first try would be his drug of choice.

After years of use, depression and anxiety set in. Parnell was paranoid to the point he nearly killed the mail deliverer, who he thought was spying on him. Parnell said he beat his wife, neglected his children and thought about suicide often to escape the grip drugs had on him.

“I thought the only way out for me was death,” said Parnell, who made two unsuccessful attempts at suicide.

The first try failed when the rope broke. He said recovering the ability to swallow took a week. He stopped using meth for five months before resorting to his old ways. When his wife told him she was leaving him, he shot himself.

The experience led Parnell to God and the desire to do something positive with his life. His wife convinced him to tell his story and show what drugs can do. He has shared his message with thousands, speaking at schools, churches and even prisons.

Derek Wagoner, a former multi-sport athlete at Pioneer High School, discovered the importance of Parnell’s message but not until after he experienced his own hardships because of a drug problem that began the summer before his senior year.

Wagoner, who joined Parnell for a special introduction, had dropped out of school and gotten into legal trouble for burglary in Cass County and drunken driving in Carroll County.

“I wish I could have heard somebody like that at their age,” Wagoner said before the presentation.

Wagoner’s drugs of choice were marijuana, cocaine and prescription pills. He said they contributed heavily to his bad decisions. He said he wanted to warn as many people as he could about the consequences of the addiction that plagues communities nationwide. He told his story before a packed gym.

“I let a lot of you guys down, and I’m really sorry for that,” Wagoner said.

When he said he had been sober for 20 months, applause erupted from the audience.

“I’ve been living a lot happier and a lot more productive life since I got off of them,” he said.

Wagoner said he had learned his lesson and that he planned to remain drug free.

Parnell is expected to reach about 4,000 students on his tour of area high schools during Red Ribbon Week, the national anti-illicit drug use campaign. His trip was made possible through the efforts of Pastor Teri White and Methamphetamine Anonymous Support Group facilitator Deborah Moss.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.



Want to go?

Here is a list of David Parnell’s speaking engagements open to the public:

Saturday — 5:30 p.m. at Calvary Union Fall Festival at Sangralea Valley

Sunday — 10:30 a.m. at Bethlehem United Methodist Church on 625N near Twelve Mile and from 3 to 6 p.m. at St. Matthews Church, 2 W. Indiana Ave., Hamlet.

Monday — 7 p.m. at Bethel College in Mishawaka.



Facing the Dragon

To learn more about the story of David Parnell, visit his Web site at www.facingthedragon.org.