Prom Night Turns Tragic for Young Woman, 18, Who took Ecstacy & Special K Mix

May 21, 2002 | BarbieDoll

[Barbie Doll]

Teen Reported Brain Dead From Prom-Night Excess Email story to a friend SANTA ANA -- An 18-year-old Foothill High School student has been declared brain dead after taking the stimulant Ecstasy, the hallucinogen ketamine and alcohol on her senior prom night, it was reported Tuesday.

Cathy Isford was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana on Sunday morning, a few hours after the prom. She remained in a coma and was declared brain dead by Sunday evening, the Orange County Register reported.

She will remain on life support for at least another day, the newspaper reported this morning.

Before the prom, the girl told her sister Star that she planed to take a mix of Ecstasy and "Special K," or ketamine, a hallucinogen widely used as an animal tranquilizer.

"She wanted to make it a perfect night," Star Isford, 27, told The Register, adding that she tried to stop her sister from taking the drugs.

"I told her be careful, watch what you do. (But) you can't tell somebody her age what to do," she said.

Police said Cathy became comatose after an apparent overdose brought on by a combination of Ecstasy, ketamine and alcohol.

Cathy Isford, who had planned to become an elementary school teacher, attended the prom with her fiance, Rene Rojas, 26. She snapped pictures of her friends as they danced at Joe's Garage, an auto museum at the Tustin Auto Center, her best friend, Sara Gulley, 18, told The Register.

Then Cathy Isford and Rojas and Gulley and her boyfriend, Jeremy Thomas, 19, went to a hotel in Santa Ana for a small post-prom party. Gulley thinks that Isford took the drugs en route to the hotel or once they arrived there, The Register reported.

"I begged her not to take it," Gulley said, adding that none of the others took drugs.

[maxwell]

whatever happened to the ol' 12-pak and a fattie ? ? ? signed, Class of 1983

Or just an ice-cold case (w/o the fattie)? ? ? signed, Class of 1985

Or just a couple fifths of cheap tequila?

signed,

Class of uhhhhhh...
(OK I was a geek)

[wardaddy]

Ludes have been virtually impossible to get since around 1984. Remember that girl.....Quinlan???...wasn't it....Ludes and alcohol. Her folks had to go to court to remove her life support.

[Barbie Doll]

It's true what you say; and a lot of young teen/adults turn to drugs to escape their dismal reality (problems in the home, school, etc.) but in the end, drug/alcohol abuse is not the real answer. I don't know what is, but I know drugs aren't.

[jayef]

You didn't read the article then and your facts don't match up. You said an overdose of extasy. That is not what causes coma. Read it again and then read about what MDMA actually does, and you will understand that there is no such thing as an extasy "overdose".

[AdA$tra]

Don't mix alcohol with narcotics or barbituates. When in doubt, opt out. If you do opt in, at least learn what mixes and what doesn't.

[Barbie Doll]

Why would I mix alcohol and drugs? Wouldn't that make me sick?

[Boxsford]

low blow KC

[maxwell]

More importantly, was she smoking cigarettes?

Hey now, hey now... [draaaaaaag PUFF]

[paul51]

Why didn't her "fiancee" stop her from taking the drugs?

Because he is already brain dead

[AdA$tra]

Or just a couple fifths of cheap tequila?

Never and I mean NEVER drink cheap tequila.

[paddles]

And the family and friends who "tried to talk her out of it."

If it were my little brother or sister they woulda gotten a body-beating. The people who offered it to them woulda turned up missing.

[VRWC_minion]

Unfortunately, the acute toxicity of MDMA has also become apparent in humans. With the rise of rave culture in the UK reports of severe reactions, including fatalities after the use of 'ecstasy' appeared in the medical literature. They were reviewed by Henry et al. (1992). The predominant toxicity patterns that emerge from these reports are fulminant hyperthermia, convulsions, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (blood clotting in the blood vessels), rhabdomyolysis (dissolution of skeletal muscle), and acute renal (kidney) failure. DIC and rhabdomyolysis may be brought about by the hyperthermic condition, and rhabdomyolysis can also be caused by acute renal failure. Acute liver failure is another serious complication reported in association with the use of MDMA and can also precipitate from a hyperthermic condition.2

[Barbie Doll]

I love tequila - in my Margarita! :o)

[GoreIsLove]

Because they were all doing it. Trying to have a good time. In my younger days, when I experimented with similar drugs, there was always this one girl who wanted to get higher than the last time, which always requires more drugs. No one ever thought to stop her because no one figured it would cause too much harm. This is more than likely what was going on here. Faulty logic in the absolute wrong state of mind.

[Dan Day]

and "Special K," or ketamine, a hallucinogen widely used as an animal tranquilizer.

"She wanted to make it a perfect night,"

Ketamine is one of the "date rape" drugs, because the victim will be semi-conscious and be able to respond to verbal commands, but will not later recall what happened while they were drugged.

That doesn't sound like my idea of a perfect prom night.

Advice for the young: If you want a perfect night, try it perfectly sober.

[jayef]

Tell me how this equates to an overdose.

[Barbie Doll]

You gotta ask yourself -was it really worth it?

[FITZ]

An 18 year-old with a 26 year-old fiance?? Are her parents dead?

Sounds like they weren't paying much attention.

[southern rock]

Nah. Just libertarians (her sister sure sounds like one). Wouldn't want to cramp her style.

Yeah, it really sucks when 18 yr. old ADULTS make their own decisions, and then deal with the consequences.

[AdA$tra]

Why would I mix alcohol and drugs? Wouldn't that make me sick?

To me alcohol is as hard a drug as you can find on the streets. Some would tell you that it mixes well with certain substances. Mixed with some substances it can be fatal.