Cocaine cut destroys Windsor woman’s body

Experimenting turns to much more

A decade ago, she had bleach-blond hair, a fit body and like most twenty-year-olds, enjoyed the party scene. Now she’s in a wheel-chair, with one leg missing from what doctors believe is an unusual complication.

Jenny, 32, who asked her name not be mentioned, began the drug life-style at a young age.

“Smoking weed first in high school,” said Jenny.

The 18-year-old, it became tired of school, so she dropped out and started exotic dancing for some of the Windsor strip clubs.

“We would do lines and everybody(dancers) else was doing lines, before you know it you don’t want to work without doing the lines,” said Jenny.

“It snowballs so fast.”

The same drug that was snorted with the other dancers led to the amputation of her right leg. Levamisole is a cutting agent found in most cocaine in Canada and the United States. Doctors and specialists did blood and urine and found high levels of it in Jenny.

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“We know that the levamisole causes vasculitis and the vasculitis causes a very characteristic eruption through-out the body on the skin, great big red patches, which become ulcers,” said Dr. Tony Hammer, addictions specialist.

“It can affect the larger vessels not just the small ones and that’s the most severe outcome to be afflicted by this drug(cocaine).”

Hammer said this case of vasculitis Jenny’s developed is “such a rare condition and there are few substances that have this affect.”

Windsor Police Const. Andrew Drouillard, said the police are not familiar with levamisole, but they do know the purpose for most chemicals found in narcotics.

“One of the things that makes drugs so dangerous on the streets is that they have to cut them with various materials or chemicals to produce more quantity, so they’ll have more product to sell.”

A drug that’s taken so much and keeps taking

Jenny is facing the permanent consequences of this lethal mixture. It’s been two years since the operation. That day is a day Jenny said she will never forget as she maneuvers a motorized wheel-chair in her sky-rise apartment.

“My leg just started to feel hot and uncomfortable, then it started to feel cold, I didn’t know what was going on,” said Jenny.

“I went to the hospital, I would say within seven days of when it first showed up, I was waiting for surgery to get my leg amputated.”

The vasculitis is now starting to alter her left leg. Also a couple of her fingers are curling over, which makes it hard to form a fist or pick certain things up. Currently she’s prescribed Prednisone which is a steroid medication formulated to prevent inflammation and lowers redness and swelling. The medication does not help enough said Jenny. With all the injuries sustained and years of battling addiction drugs are a difficult habit to quit said the 32-year-old.

“I feel really depressed sometimes.”

“I still do coke, it’s so stupid and it sounds ridiculous,” said Jenny.

Mary Kaye Lucier, addictions social worker, said a person in Jenny’s position needs professional help immediately.

“Drug addiction is a disease, so without the proper treatment they’re disease just gets worse and worse,” said Lucier.

“Unfortunately this woman with losing her leg, she doesn’t have the proper treatment, so she’s going to continue to use the drugs, that’s the sad part.”

“It’s signing a death trap,” said Jenny.

“If I would have known okay you’re going to do that, but hey you’re going to lose your leg, I would have never gone near this stuff.”