Bryce and Susan Phillipy want kids to get the message that even one experiment with drugs can spell disaster.

The family knows the dangers of drugs firsthand; their 17 year old son, Kyle, has been in a coma at Harborview Medical Center since ingesting morphine Nov 11.

“We want to get the information out to kids that taking drugs is not only dumb but dangerous,” Bryce Phillipy said. “Kyle made one mistake that could affect the rest of his life.”

A high school friend that the family and police chose not to identify gave Kyle the drug that made him comatose.

“We trusted this kid,” Phillipy said. “Because he was so respectful, we thought it was all right. We thought we knew a lot about this kid, but we didn’t.”

On Nov. 10, the friend spent the night at the Phillipy home.

The two boys were playing video games in Kyle’s room when Phillipy said good night to them at midnight.

The Phillipys woke Sunday morning and began getting ready for church.

Phillipy said, “Kyle is usually a slow waker, so I often have to call him several times. After two or three attempts, I shook him. He didn’t respond. His skin was cold and clammy. His eyes were dilated. I couldn’t hear a heartbeat. I couldn’t tell that he was breathing at all until I held a finger under his nose.”

Phillipy called 911 and began CPR.

Kyle was airlifted to Harborview. The Phillipys followed on the 9:20 a.m. ferry.

At the hospital, the family were ushered into the emergency room.

“There was our son, lying on a table,” Phillipy said. “They had him on a respirator.”

Kyle has been unconscious ever since, Phillipy says.

Medical tests showed brain damage to the lower cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, the areas in the brain that control movement and memory.

Kyle’s friend denied knowing anything about Kyle’s predicament for three crucial days while doctors tried to figure out what had gone wrong.

Finally the young man confessed to police that he had given Kyle three morphine pills, a left-over prescription he had stolen from his aunt’s medicine cabinet.

The Phillipys learned from the police report that Kyle’s friend knew Kyle was reacting badly to the drug.

“He described to police trying to lift Kyle and Kyle just crumpling,” Phillipy said, “but he didn’t wake us because he didn’t want to get in trouble.”

The police report noted that the friend had swallowed four morphine tablets.

Neighbors later told the Phillipys that they saw the young man vomiting in the Phillipy’s yard the next day.

Lindsey Carlson, a BHS junior described by the Phillipys as “Kyles best friend,” remembers the Sunday morning call from Phillipy.

“When his Dad phoned and said that Kyle had just been airlifted to Harborview, I thought, ‘it must be another reason, it can’t be drugs,’” Carlson said.

While Kyle had occasionally smoked marijuana, Carlson says, and had once tried alcohol, he had never done hard drugs or pain killers.

“Kyle is the last person who should ever deserve this,” Carlson said.

The Phillpys say that although Kyle was sometimes rebellious and was questioning his family’s religious beliefs, he talked to his family about his feelings, and that the family encouraged the open communication.

When they learned that Kyle had smoked marijuana, they discussed the matter with their son and Kyle agreed to be tested for the drug.

“I caught him – his sister knew and other friends knew he had experimented,” Phillipy said, “but it was relatively mild.”

Phillipy says drug tests showed that Kyle had not smoked pot in more than six weeks and his grades had improved from Cs to Bs.

“This had to be the first time he took morphine,” Susan Phillipy said, “because the doctors say he was allergic to the drug so he would have had that reaction before, if he had tried it.”

Uncertain future

The family has spent the last two weeks in the Harborview room with Kyle, joined by friends like Lindsey Carlson’s mother, Kathy Carlson, who has spent part of every day there.

Kyle’s prognosis is uncertain, his parents say.

A hopeful sign is that he has began responding to visual and verbal stimuli, although still in a coma.

“He could wake up in days, or months or years – or not at all,” Phillipy said.

The doctors are being very guarded, very neutral in what they say to us. They don’t want to give false hope.”

Doctors do say, however, that Kyle’s youth and health strengthen his chances of recovery.

Susan Phillipy describes her son as an athletic and competitive kid always on the go, who loves to snowboard and skateboard.

“Kyle has many friends,” Susan Phillipy said. “We didn’t know how many.”

A prayer service two days after Kyle’s overdose drew 100 attendees, Susan Phillipy said, many of them Kyle’s friends from school.

The family has received numerous letters and cards.

“It’s overwhelming to us,” Phillipy said. “In all different states – California, Washington and on the east coast, people are praying for him.”

Local friends have been supportive, with some visitors coming to Harborview every day.

While friends have been generous, the family faces increasing medical costs.

“This kind of thing can devastate a family financially,” Phillipy said. “Although we have insurance, the benefits are unlikely cover all the care.”

And Susan Phillipy faces her own physical challenges.

Legally blind, Phillipy has also had a kidney transplant. Kyle used to help her get around, she notes.

The financial difficulties ahead are matched by the emotional hurdles.

Particularly hard, the family says, is knowing that the tragedy happened at home.

“You think, “What if I had gone into his room sooner,’ Phillipy said. “You ‘what if’ yourself to death.”

Drawing on their Mormon faith, the Phillipys say they have forgiven the young man who gave their son the morphine.

“We feel very sorry for him,” Phillipy said. “This is something he will have to live with. He’s a young kid who made some mistakes. He’s lost and he’s hurting.”

Kyle’s friend has since returned to his country-of-origin.

Before he left, he wrote a note of apology to the Phillipys.

According to Bainbridge police detective Scott Anderson, the case will not be prosecuted.

Anderson said, “Kyle Phillipy was a normal Bainbridge Island adolescent, not a problem child. I applaud the Phillipys for being willing – and having the guts – to present this to the community so it doesn’t happen again.

“While we don’t release the information because minors are involved, events of this sort – to a lesser magnitude – happen all the time at teen parties on Bainbridge.

“When we try, as police officers, to get parents to listen, they don’t take it seriously.”

The Phillpy’s son was moved to Island Health and Rehabilitation Tuesday.

The Phillipys say they know that Kyle’s recovery will take a long time. It may be months before he can move or speak.

The Phillipys believe, however, that Kyle sends an eloquent message that Bainbridge teens need to hear.

“Kids: if you really think trying it once doesn’t hurt anything, think of Kyle.”

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Donations for the Bryce Phillpy Medical Expenses Account can be made at Frontier Bank on Bainbridge.